Just Because
by meandering-bluebottle
Summary: Why has is taken Rose and Scorpius until seventh year to figure out that they didn't have the other one pegged? Just because...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I have really enjoyed entering the realms of the Rose/Scorpius fics so I figured I would give it a shot. If people like this chapter and review, I will write more to the story...hope you like it

**Disclaimer: **Haven't got a witty way to say that it's not mine...so, that said, its not mine.

* * *

Rose Weasley stared at the list of ingredients she needed for her shrinking potion. Perhaps scowled at the list would be more appropriate, as Rose could not brew this potion on her own. As a result, she was extraordinarily annoyed that her potions partner had still not shown up after 15 minutes of class. It was most unusual for Scorpius Malfoy to miss a class or even come late. However, it was not unusual for Rose to be irritated with the aforementioned boy. Rose turned her scowl toward the door, hoping that she had simply missed Scorpius' entrance and he was talking to one of his Slytherin friends instead of helping her in order to irritate her further. She looked about the room and saw no tall blonde boy hovering over other students' work. Rose sighed loudly and scanned the list once more before shifting her chair back moodily and heading toward the store cupboard. She hurriedly gathered the ingredients she needed and set them noisily onto her work bench so that everyone would know that she was mad. What Rose didn't realise was that nearly the whole of Hogwarts' population was able to tell if she was mad purely by looking at her ears. Not only had Rose Weasley inherited her father's red hair, but also his ability to go from zero to irate in two point three seconds flat. It would have been quicker however it took the whole two point three seconds for the blood to rush to her ears before she could verbalise her frustration.

Rose's cousin Albus was about to address her but hesitated upon witnessing Rose's already flaming ears and quickly turned back to his own workbench. Albus never thought that he would pity a Malfoy, but in this moment he did. Rose began chopping up her chochurra roots and all Albus could think of was that if Scorpius walked in at this moment, his life was quite possibly in danger. Luckily Rose had put the knife down and was scraping the cut up roots into her cauldron when Scorpius finally arrived. Rose only acknowledged his entrance when she felt the heavy thump that Scorpius made when he sat down. Rose smirked as she saw Professor Eaves look up from her desk and notice Scorpius' arrival. Rose's smile widened as the professor's eyes squinted in disapproval in Scorpius' direction.

"Glad to see you could find the time to join us Mr. Malfoy." Said the professor. Then she went back to her parchment. _That's it? _Thought Rose.

"That's it?" Apparently Rose had lost her ability to keep her inner thoughts within her head. The professor raised her eyebrow at Rose's outburst.

"Miss Weasley, do you have something to say?" Rose glared at Scorpius, who had still not reacted to anything. Rose was never to be the one to talk back to a teacher, and today was not a day to break tradition.

"No professor," she replied, almost as if she was in pain.

"Excellent. Can you please tell fill Mr. Malfoy in on the assignment for the day."

Rose turned to Scorpius who was still staring at the table and shoved the potion list under his gaze.

"Right, we're making a shrinking potion. I've already collected all the ingredients and have chopped and added the chochurra roots. You can squeeze the cephola pods and take the spoon and begin stirring ten times counter-clockwise. And don't think I'm going to let you get away from coming in late and making me set up by myself, every other group is already up to part four and we, that is I, have only begun part one so get off your lazy aristocratic arse and actually do some work." Rose took up her knife again and handed Scorpius the spoon whilst continuing her rant. "Merlin knows that you can walk into class late and frickin' get away with it without so much as a telling off or a detention and quite frankly I would love to know how you had the teachers wrapped around your little finger, but we have better things to do. Why the hell were you late anyway, you're never late!"

Rose finally stopped talking while Scorpius had followed every instruction she had given him. Rose furrowed her brow as she looked at Scorpius. He was listening to her. He never listened to her.

"What, no _'don't tell me what to do Weasley, I know more about potions then you know hair taming spells'?"_

Rose thought that provoking him further would get a response, but Scorpius' jaw simply clenched tighter and he continued working. Rose looked at him with something akin to concern in her eyes. She decided to continue her usual tactics.

"So I guess I should revel in your silence then? I never thought I would see the day that you would simply just give up and admit that I'm better than you. Academically I mean, but I don't doubt in other ways too. It would really make a difference if you actually told me out loud but don't worry, I can read your silence well." Rose paused again, waiting for a reaction. She was starting to get really worried. Scorpius was the only person she was openly rude to, and it helped to play the bitch when there was something to retaliate against. Rose perked up slightly as she saw Scorpius open his mouth, possibly to talk back but he closed it again and quickly set his jaw again. Rose became even more frustrated.

"I got it wrong, my mistake. You know, if you want to act all superior and above it all, just be yourself because it's so much easier to deal with your incessant whining and slander when you are vocal about it. Just because you're a Malfoy-"

There was a loud bang as Scorpius slammed his palms against the table.

"Do you ever stop fucking talking Weasley, or do you take pride in being able to irritate people to the point of anger? You don't know what the fuck you're talking about so just, just shut up!" Scorpius forcefully dragged his chair back and stormed out of the room without another glance. Professor Eaves had been watching the whole interaction between her two star pupils and her eyes followed Scorpius' retreating back as he left the room. The professor sighed and addressed Rose.

"Miss Weasley, would you kindly go after your potions partner and see if you can bring him back to class?"

Rose was so confused as to what had just happened that it took her a long moment before she registered the request. She was mad at Scorpius, but that was nothing new. They had a mutual dislike for one another and tended to use this as a means to get under the other's skin. He pushed her buttons and she pushed his right back. Finally the professor's orders clicked.

"You want me to go after Malfoy?" she asked, rather perplexed.

"You better hurry Miss Weasley, he has a quick stride." The professor said curtly. Rose's eyes widened in disbelief.

"In all due respect professor, I don't think that is a good idea. I doubt I would have any persuasive powers against Malfoy at all. Would it not be better to send one of his housemates?" Rose asked hopefully, really not wanting to follow the boy.

"Miss Weasley, the other students are halfway through their potions and you have barely started. I would like you to go after Mr. Malfoy as it is both convenient and I believe you two could also do with an opportunity for a civil interaction. So _in all due respect_, Miss Weasley, I would like _you_ to go after him. I suggest you hurry." And with that the professor looked back down at her parchment again.

* * *

Rose had stormed out of the classroom somewhat the same way Scorpius had and suddenly realised she had no idea which way the boy had gone. Rose turned right and reasoned that if Scorpius hadn't turned in this direction and she didn't find him, that she would at least be spared another difficult interaction with him. Rose continued to storm down the corridor and mumbled insults and empty curses with her thoughts of Scorpius. She had taken another random turn at the end of the corridor and saw the flash of a blonde head near a tapestry that hung on the wall some 20 metres from where she stood. Rolling her eyes and trying not to think about what would happen next, she quickened her pace and forcefully flung back the tapestry.

"Turning up late to class and then storming out, what the fuck is with you today Malfoy?"

Scorpius turned around with a little more force that was probably intended. The glare in his eyes was definitely intended.

"What the fuck is with me? ME, Weasley? What the fuck is with you? Why would you even give a shit if I was acting differently, you're normally too much of a bitch to notice anything other than yourself. Why would you spend so much time pissing me off and then run out of your precious potions class just to find out what's going on. I had you pegged as a prejudiced wench but never a gossip monger Weasley."

Rose's worry was beginning to overshadow her outrage at all Scorpius had just said. They normally stuck to shallow insults that were either very mild or held no truth whatsoever that they weren't offensive in the slightest. Rose felt these insults were coming from another place entirely. Then, for the first time that day, she realised that Scorpius' hair was fair more messy than would be considered normal and that his eyes were rimmed with red and his usually pale, flawless skin was tinted pink. Due to her shock, Rose's reply was half-hearted.

"Why do you think I'm prejudiced?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and stepped closer.

"How could you not be? Just because I'm a Malfoy doesn't mean you have me pegged. I'm not a death eater or a muggle hater and my family are, are," Scorpius' rant petered out and Rose noticed that his eyes had started watering. Scorpius forcefully wiped at his face with the palm of his hand. Despite her dislike for the boy, Rose couldn't help but feel for his vulnerability. Despite this, she couldn't figure out where his prejudiced comment came from. She quickly thought back to her rant in the classroom. _Just because you're a Malfoy. _It was the first time Rose had ever used his last name as an actual insult. While they called each other by their last names, they never used it as an excuse for an insult. Something in Rose's brain clicked.

"Is this anything to do about your grandfather dying?" Rose asked softly. Scorpius looked up at her shocked. His eyes suddenly looked toward the ground.

"Look, I'm sorry that you think I'm prejudiced, I really am because I'm about as prejudiced as you are. But I've been sent here by the professor to attempt to bring you back to class, and I can't do that unless you want to simply walk back and pretend like nothing happened or you can tell me what is going on and I can figure out what to do." Rose paused. "I know we don't really know each other that well but I can tell there is something wrong and it's fair enough if you don't want to tell me but don't you dare take it out on me and start with false accusations."

Scorpius seemed to have listened to everything Rose had said. Rose thought he looked defeated. As Scorpius turned his back to the wall and slid down to the floor, her suspicions were confirmed. Rose decided to sit against the wall across from him until he decided to speak. She didn't know how long she would have to wait, but she would.

* * *

It took 10 minutes before Scorpius even made a sound.

"It was my grandmother." Rose had been staring at the wall above his head and was quickly brought out of her reverie.

"Sorry, what?" There was a pause again.

"My grandmother, it was my grandmother who died. I mean, grandfather died a month ago and that was…well, and this is just so – I don't – I don't know."

Rose looked at Scorpius' defeated expression.

"I'm so sorry." She said, and she meant it. She knew that Scorpius' grandfather had spent most of his latter years in Azkaban, but that his grandmother had resided with his family in Malfoy manor.

"Were you close?" she asked. Scorpius merely nodded. Scorpius sensed that Rose didn't know how to reply so he continued.

"I am, um was, her only grandchild so we sort of struck up a bond. I mean I love my parents and all and we get along as well as most parents and kids do, but with grandma it was just different. It was more special. She really got me."

There was another long pause but this time Scorpius didn't bother to fill it. He wasn't even sure why he was telling her all of this. He suspected that she usually riled him up enough to get him to verbalise things he normally would keep to himself and that this was an extension of that. After a couple of minutes of silence, he heard Rose speak.

"I lost my Pa last year. I know our situations are different and all, I mean my Pa had me and Hugo and even though he was from my mum's side of the family and she's an only child, he was practically an extra Pa to the rest of the Weasley's and Potters and there are heaps of us. But it's so easy to get lost among that many relatives and Pa really just…well it's like you said, he just understood me and that just made everything so much easier." Rose smiled, getting lost in thoughts of her grandfather.

"You know he was a dentist, just like nan, and he used to be such a killjoy when we were kids eating all those wizard lollies and chocolates, saying that we would end up with false teeth by the age of 20. I used to just argue that I could use magic to get my teeth back to normal, just like I think my mum did. I've seen pictures where she had really bucked teeth, but then after her fourth year her teeth looked much smaller, so I reckon that she figured out a spell to make them more normal or started wearing them down by biting on a stone or something. Anyway, one day I was upset because everyone was playing quidditch and I'm the only person out of all my cousins to not take a liking to the sport so everyone kept leaving me out of other games and things throughout the holidays. I used to pretend that it didn't bother me but Pa saw me moping under a tree with a book and knew I was upset. He started to ask what was wrong and I decided to tell him about feeling so different and not fitting in or being special and blah blah blah. Then he did something that I'll never forget. He put his hand in his mouth and pulled out a set of false teeth. The dentist who had been so adamant about oral health and teeth care had false teeth and had never told anyone. Not even my Nan! Apparently he had them before he even met her because he ran into a bump on his bike one day as a teenager and got flung into the handlebars and lost a lot of his teeth. After showing me he quickly put them back in and explained that now I should feel special again because I knew something that absolutely no one else in the family knew."

Scorpius had watched Rose throughout her story with a puzzled look on his face.

"So you talk too much even when you're not insulting me or bossing me around." he said, more as a statement than a question. Rose didn't feel embarrassed by this. Her stories always had a point.

"I was just trying to say that I understand." She shrugged.

"You could have just said so."

"But would you have believed me or thrown it back in my face?"

Scorpius thought for a moment.

"Fair call."

There was another pause.

"Okay, so you need to decide what to do. Are you coming back to class or do you need to just get away?"

"I think I'll make this a sick day."

"Okay, you just stay here then and I'll go back to class. I'll come back with your bag and books." Scorpius looked puzzled again.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm not actually a bitch, only to you sometimes and at this moment, I don't dislike you."

Rose got up to exit the secret hallway. Just as she was almost past the tapestry, she heard a quiet 'thanks'. Rose smiled and made her way back to the classroom.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Rose found herself at the tapestry once more. For the first time in her life she was hoping to see Scorpius Malfoy, hoping that he hadn't left. After pulling the tapestry back she dumped the load of books and bags on the floor before she looked up to see if Scorpius was still there. He was still sitting in the same position. Rose collected Scorpius' belongings from the lot on the ground and handed them to him.

"Ah, thanks."

"You're welcome. Eaves must be in a good mood today, she hardly mentioned what had happened and we both got off Scott free."

"She went to school with my mum. She probably knows."

"Ah that explains it." Rose replied, and for the first time was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. They were being civil to one another and she wasn't sure how she was supposed to act or what was going to happen now.

"You have your own books and bag." Scorpius stated.

"Ah yeah, I figured that there was no way I could do any work of value for the rest of the lesson so came up with an excuse to get us both out of classes for the day. It's gunna suck when they find out its not true though."

"Why what did you come up with?" Scorpius asked sceptically.

"I said you weren't feeling well so I found you in the hospital wing and told Madame Pomfrey about Eaves sending me after you blah blah blah. Anyway I said that the nurse found out you had the tiki virus and you weren't allowed to fall asleep or the fever would take hold so because I was already there I could stay with you to keep you awake. Effectively gets us out of a whole day's worth of classes."

Scorpius looked at her in awe for the first time ever.

"Huh. That's actually a good one."

"Yeah until they find out that we aren't actually in the hospital wing."

"Well they may never find out. If we stay out of sight of everyone for the rest of the day."

"Hopefully."

Scorpius began putting his books into his bag. Once the bag was fully zipped up, he looked at Rose yet again.

"Why have you helped me?"

"Like I said, you don't have me pegged. I'm not prejudiced, I don't _hate_ you and right now I don't dislike you. I know what you're going through but I had family to help me, and I think I would be right in guessing that you haven't told anyone?"

Scorpius looked a little miffed that she had guessed right and curtly nodded his head.

"Well then, that's why." She replied rather smugly. Another pause interrupted their unusual conversation.

"So I guess we'll get out of this corridor before the halls are full again?"

"Too right!" Answered Rose. They both stood up and exited their hiding position. Scorpius scuffed his feet, looking a little hesitant while Rose faced the direction she was planning to go.

"So I guess I'll see you around?" She asked, trying to wrap up their interaction neatly.

"Ah yeah." Scorpius nodded, still looking at his feet.

"Will you be okay?" Rose asked and Scorpius shrugged. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Okay then, well I'm heading this way," Rose replied and pointed toward the left. Scorpius didn't react so Rose just said 'bye' and started walking off.

"Rose?" Scorpius yelled out. She stopped in her tracks and let her surprise show on her face.

"So I'm _Rose_ now am I?" She asked with a smirk. Scorpius smirked back.

"Just for today," he replied.

"So what were you going to say?" Rose asked after yet another pause.

"Um I was just wondering whether – if you could. Ah, never mind." He finished and began to walk off to the right. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Scorpius did you want some company? Last year all I wanted was someone to distract me."

"That would be good," he nodded sheepishly. "So I'm Scorpius now?" he said with a small smile, attempting his own distraction.

"For today? Sure. Come on, I know somewhere we can go."

* * *

A/N: If there isn't much interest I probably wont keep going so please review if you want me to continue. Cheers people!


	2. Because you're there

**A/N: **Thanks SO much for the reviews. This chapter is really long so hope it pleases. PLEASE review, its really the only thing that keeps me writing! Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it!

* * *

Rose led Scorpius down to a large tree by the lake which was positioned on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest. The tree had oversized, hanging branches that almost touched the ground and made a makeshift shelter against the outside world. The tree's roots had began to surface, leaving a selection of perfectly arched logs to either sit upon or lean against. Rose sat on one of the tree roots while Scorpius gingerly leant against another, not sure where to go from here. Rose let out an exaggerated sigh, and looked through the branches to watch the lake.

"I absolutely love it here." She said, breaking the silence. Scorpius followed her gaze and was blown away by the view.

"I can see why. Do you come here often?" he asked, visibly cringing at his words.

"Not to pick up guys, no." Rose laughed.

"Very funny, you know I didn't mean it like that," Scorpius retorted.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. I do come here quite a bit. No one seems to come this far into the grounds, seeing as though it is so close to the Forbidden Forest. I like to come here and read from time to time, get away from things. Not surprisingly I often come here after my classes with you. It calms me down."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at her jibe but luckily for him, Rose was still looking toward the lake. There was a comfortable silence for a while.

"Did you come here when your Pa died?" Rose had almost forgotten why they had come down here in the first place.

"No, not really. I needed distractions. This is my 'alone' place so I come here when I want to get away from people. When Pa died all I wanted to do was be around others so they could distract me. I think too much here, it would have gotten to me."

Scorpius nodded.

"So, did you ever get over it? Your Pa dying I mean." He asked sombrely. Rose furrowed her brows and finally looked toward Scorpius.

"Well I'm used to it now; it has been over a year. But I'll never be over it. I don't think you can get over someone dying."

Scorpius nodded yet again. When he spoke, his voice was lower than usual.

"So does it still hurt?" Rose smiled at him.

"Yeah, sometimes it does. But you get through it. When he first died, I was mostly sad out of selfishness, you know 'what am I going to do now' and 'I feel really sad for losing him'. Then after a while I was sad for my Nan because she had lost the person she had been with for over 50 years. Then after more time it just feels better and you adjust. I mean there are still times when I go back to being selfishly sad but I find it helps to look at things in perspective. I mean it's not like he died a horrific death like in our parent's time. Imagine living your life in fear all the time." Rose finished wistfully.

"I think the fear my parents felt would have been a bit different from what your parents felt." Scorpius commented rather bitterly.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked. Scorpius looked at her disbelievingly.

"Your parents never shared their stories about the war? The goodies, the baddies?"

Rose looked disgruntled.

"Of course they did. I just don't see what that has to do with how their fear would be different. Fear is fear."

"Yes but your family were in fear because they were –" Scorpius stopped abruptly at the death glare Rose was sending his way.

"If you are going to go on and say that your family's fear was superior to mine then I'm going to have to ask you to piss off." Rose's ears had turned red, a clear warning sign. "And you think I'm the prejudiced one." She added in an undertone.

Scorpius gritted his teeth. Obviously the war was not the topic to remain on civil terms with the red head.

"I wasn't going to say – oh never mind."

"No please, enlighten me!" Rose challenged.

"Look, I don't want to argue with you right now!"

"Why not?"

"Because I just don't – I thought you were supposed to be 'Rose' today, not 'Weasley'." He answered, almost pouting. It was Rose's turn to roll her eyes. She took a big breath to calm herself and chanted in her head '_he just lost his nan, he just lost his nan…"_

"Okay, okay, I've calmed down now." She finally said. However, Scorpius remained sceptical as he saw her ears were still glowing red.

"You sure?" he asked, looking at her out the corner of his eye.

"Yes!" Rose shouted back. She clenched her fists to regain her composure. "I promise, I'm calm now. Just, tell me about your Nan or something."

"Grandma," Scorpius corrected.

"Okay, tell me about your _Grandma _then."

"I don't know what there is to tell you about her really." Scorpius said. Rose noticed his face had fallen a little as he said this. Finally her ears faded back to their normal colour and her sympathy returned.

"Just tell me anything. What did she look like, what was her personality like, how was she to you?"

Seeing Rose finally recover from her 'Weasley' fit, Scorpius was once again comfortable talking to her.

"She was father's mother and seeing as though Grandfather was in Azkaban for most of my life, she lived with us at the manor. I always remember her being really cheerful and she was one of the kindest people I know." Scorpius almost laughed at Rose's expression to this statement. "Yes shocking I know, a death eater's wife being kind."

"I didn't say anything!" Rose defended. Scorpius just laughed.

"You didn't have to. Anyway, as I said, she was always kind, but family always came first to her. She used to drive father mental at times with how protective she could be. Apparently she didn't really approve of mother when they started dating, but mother persevered and eventually gained her respect. There were times when I saw Grandma's disapproval return throughout my life, but she never openly voiced anything. Mother makes father happy so she always just left it alone. It would have also been hard for Grandma to share her house with another woman. Anyway, Grandma was always protective of mother when it mattered most. There was some shady business going on at Gringots one day and mother somehow fell victim to this weird scheme…anyway, Grandma went down there and sorted everything out, screaming that no daughter of hers would be swindled into anything unlawful – kind of a strange statement for a Malfoy to make given our history – and I just remember the look on mother's face was priceless. I think she nearly cried she was that touched. Unfortunately Grandma had a go at mother when they got home, saying something like she was so stupid to get involved in all of that business, even though it clearly wasn't mother's fault. But after yelling at her, Grandma gave her a hug and it was all back to normal."

Rose laughed. "She sounds like a strong personality."

"Yeah. I don't think she was always like that, but when your husband is in prison and you have to protect your family and their reputation, you would have no choice but to grow a backbone." Scorpius paused for a moment.

"She used to help me get away with things at home. She was the one who taught me how to steal the freshly baked biscuits, and how to sneak out of my bedroom if I had been sent there. She was the one I went to for advice. Sometimes her advice wouldn't work out but no matter what she always made me feel better. I was her pride and joy. The first time I ever saw her sad was when Grandfather died a few months back. The roles turned then – I was the one who was giving the advice and trying to cheer her up and she was like the sad teenager."

"That would have been so hard trying to deal with your grandfather's death and having to look after your Nan."

"Grandma." Scorpius corrected. "It wasn't that hard I suppose. I had only ever met grandfather a few times and never really got to know him. I was sad for grandma and father, but I didn't feel that selfish sadness you described. I didn't feel I was allowed to. The stories I've heard from other students about my grandfather back in the war…well it was hard to feel sad for someone like that."

"Just because he was a death eater doesn't mean you can't be sad that you lost him! I mean, he was your grandfather, you're allowed to be sad for yourself!"

"I think you're missing the point. I never really knew him, I couldn't be sad for myself!"

"Well that doesn't mean you couldn't be sad for never getting to know him!" Rose challenged. It seemed she couldn't have a conversation with Scorpius without wanting to disagree with something he said.

"Sorry to break it to you but having to visit your grandfather in prison with dementors making you feel like every woe on the earth is true, really doesn't pave the way for a great relationship. It sounds horrible but I didn't really mind that I never got to know him better. And cool your ears down you're turning back into 'Weasley' again."

"Sorry, Scorpius," was all she said.

"That's okay, _Rose_." Rose smiled and shook her head at their once again civil banter. They sat in silence for another few minutes.

"Sounds like you'll really miss your Nan then."

"I already miss _Grandma._ It's helped talking about it though, so thanks."

"You're welcome. So is there going to be a funeral?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, next Tuesday." Scorpius ran his hands through his hair as if he was only just realising this fact.

"I know this is going to sound strange coming from me, but did you need someone to go with?"

Scorpius looked at her incredulously. He really couldn't figure this girl out, one minute she was at his throat and the next she was asking if he needed her to accompany him to his Grandma's funeral.

"I thought you said you didn't try to pick up guys under this tree, and yet here you are asking whether I would like you to be my date to my Grandma's funeral. Way to take advantage, Rose!"

Rose's mouth opened and closed silently as if imitating a fish.

"Well, I was just trying to be polite in case you wanted some company."

"No offence Rose, but you yelling at me during my Grandma's funeral may not be entirely appropriate, not to mention the fact that everyone would be shocked that a Weasley was at a Malfoy's funeral."

Rose looked a little put out.

"Well I was only offering."

"It was a nice thought, but I'll have my family there. I'll be fine."

"Good." Replied Rose.

For the rest of the afternoon, Rose and Scorpius sat mostly in silence. Apart from the occasional comment or short conversation, they simply enjoyed each other's presence while getting lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, they realised it would be pertinent to head back to the castle and not to cause suspicion amongst their normally inquisitive school mates, they made sure to leave at separate times. Just before Scorpius left the confines of the tree, Rose called out to him.

"Scorpius?" He turned around, indicating for her to continue.

"You feel you'll need to talk after the funeral on Tuesday?"

Scorpius smiled and looked toward the ground.

"Again, as nice as your proposal is, I think I'll be alright."

Rose nodded, and then walked over to stand in front of Scorpius.

"I'm really sorry for your loss," she said before bringing the boy in for a hug. Scorpius felt a little awkward at first but realised Rose was being genuine and returned the hug. Not for the first time today did Scorpius feel like he was about to cry. Unexpected displays of sympathy always made him well up slightly. Rose was the one to pull away first and both her and Scorpius' arms fell to their sides. Rose searched Scorpius' eyes, noticing that they were somewhat glassier than before.

"So I'll see you round Malfoy?" Rose said deliberately. Scorpius didn't miss the meaning in her words.

"Yeah, you too Weasley." And with that, Scorpius walked back to the castle, pondering the very emotional and strange day he had encountered.

* * *

Rose and Scorpius lasted the whole of the weekend without running into each other. This was not unusual however, as they normally did not associate with one another outside class or during random encounters in the library or corridors. Both were surprised that they never received news of an impending detention, for it was obvious that Rose's cover story would only work for as long as it took for Professor Eaves to ask the school nurse about Scorpius' condition. It seemed for now that they had gotten away with it. Come Monday, Rose and her cousin Albus were sitting at the Griffindor table tucking into breakfast.

"Why do we have to have potions on a Monday and a Friday? It is the epitome of cruelty, I mean, Monday you need to get back into the swing of things before doing any difficult work and Friday you want to have an easy day before the weekend. It's so unfair we have to share classes with the Slytherins on both those days."

Rose laughed at Albus' comments while filling her bowl with cereal.

"Suck it up Al, we've had potions with the Slytherins for as long as I can remember. At least you have a decent partner!"

Albus looked at his cousin sympathetically. He knew Rose and Scorpius didn't get along very well.

"Well from what I've heard, you ladies seem to think that Malfoy is a bit of a looker so can't you at least look at the positives?" Al offered. He knew this conversation would rile Rose up. He enjoyed seeing how quickly her ears could change colour.

"You have got to be kidding Al, his personality negates any other positive qualities."

"To be fair Rosie, you don't really bring out the best in him. I've never seen you so aggro at someone and, please don't hit me, but when you're aggro, you're really quite scary."

Al shuffled slightly away from Rose before waiting for her to respond.

"Can you blame me? I'm no different to him than he is to me. We're both on equal ground and we both accept that. Just think of it as a healthy challenge between us both."

"I don't think it can be healthy to raise your heart-rate so high so often Rosie."

Rose rolled her eyes and flicked some dry cereal at her cousin with her spoon. This effectively ended their topic of conversation and they both completed their breakfast whilst talking of trivial things.

Rose never once looked up to catch Scorpius' eye. Scorpius never once looked toward the Griffindor table. They barely had a thought for one another because in their eyes, their Friday afternoon may as well not have happened.

* * *

Rose and Scorpius took their usual seats in potions. Rose did have to agree with Albus that it was unfair to have such an involved subject as their first class for the week. Rose glanced at Scorpius.

"Nice to see you're on time today Malfoy." She jibed.

"Well I couldn't leave you to ruin a potion all on your own Weasley. You know you need my expertise in these matters."

"If by expertise you mean a constant irritating presence, then yes, that is exactly what you bring to the table."

"I carry you in this class Weasley, just admit it."

"The only thing I will be admitting is that you are an arrogant pain in my arse."

"Your language is not very lady like. Are you consistently this vulgar or do you save those niceties for yours truly?"

"Oh believe me I tone it down considerably for your juvenile ears. And don't go thinking that I do anything specifically for you."

"Oh if anything Weasley _dear,_ you have only solidified my belief that you keep these behaviours for me and me only."

Rose was about to reply when the professor began addressing the class. After being presented with their instructions, Rose went into study mode.

"Right, you go and collect the ingredients and I'll go get the utensils." She ordered, knowing that a comeback was coming her way.

"Don't tell me what to do Weasley, I know more about potions than you know hair taming spells." He retorted, but left to go to the store cupboard anyway.

"Oh, you take notice of my hair? Didn't know you cared that much Malfoy."

"Don't flatter yourself Weasley, you're hair was far better before you chopped it off. When it was long I could at least see you coming from a distance and avoid you."

Rose bit back a smile. She was glad that their time together the previous week seemed to have changed nothing.

"You're just jealous that you can't change your look. You'll forever be fair, gangly and gruesome."

Nothing had changed. Yet.

* * *

As Tuesday approached, Rose spared a quick thought for Scorpius. Tuesdays were normally a Malfoy free day as they had completely separate classes, but today she knew that she would definitely not run into him as he would be leaving school to attend the funeral. Rose was a little worried for the boy, knowing instinctively that he wouldn't have confided to his friends about his loss. She figured he was a man's man and didn't want to seem weak among his friends, which was why he confided in her instead of a more appropriate ally. While Scorpius had said he would be fine, she wanted to make sure. She knew what he was going through and could sympathise. Despite her inward concern, Rose continued her day trying to minimise her thoughts for the absent boy.

Once the evening came around, Rose finally lost her battle against her Scorpius obsessed thoughts. Rose finally couldn't stem the flow of her curiosity and decided she would do something about it. Somehow she had to get Scorpius on his own and once again return to civil discussion in order to determine whether he was alright. Only then could her obsessive thoughts be reduced. Rose descended the stairs to the common room and noticed that Albus was about to leave on his prefect rounds. Rose quickly grabbed her cousin's arm before he was able to exit through the portrait hole.

"Rosie, what do you want, I have to get going on rounds!" Albus exclaimed, rather irritably. He looked at his watch to make sure he wasn't going to be late.

"Sorry Al, but I quickly need to ask a favour."

Albus stared at Rose, expecting her to continue. He looked at his watch again to prompt Rose to be quick.

"Shit sorry, I know you have to go, but could I please see your copy of the prefect's roster?"

"If this is because you are planning something and don't want it to be during my shift, you know I do Tuesday nights…" Al explained.

"No no, nothing like that. I'm just planning to do a bit of an all nighter in the library this week and need to see who is on when. You know, so I don't get caught with the most power hungry patrollers."

This was not a new request for Rose. She had asked Albus this same favour when she was studying for her OWL's. Albus simply sighed and checked his watch again.

"I gotta go Rosie, but you can go up to my dorm and get it. It's in the front compartment of my bag. You might just have to search around a bit until you find my bag though…I'm not sure where I threw it."

Rose hugged her cousin.

"Cheers Al, you're a diamond!" and with that comment she waved goodbye to Albus and took off in the direction of the boy's dormitories.

No matter how many times Rose entered the seventh year boy's dormitory, she never got used to the mess. Unfortunately when they first started at Hogwarts, the sorting hat seemed to select Griffindor boys for their lack of hygiene rather than their courage and determination. Rose made her way over to the bed which she knew to be Albus' and began searching. After flinging some banana peels out of the way and surviving an encounter with a suspicious viscous fluid, Rose finally found Albus' backpack and opened the front compartment. She pulled out the Prefect's roster. It was exactly where Albus said it would be. He may have been as disgusting as the rest of the boys who inhabited his dorm, but he knew exactly where everything was. Rose called it organised chaos.

Rose unfolded the parchment and skimmed the names. She eventually found what she was looking for: _Scorpius Malfoy and Holly Green, Thursday evenings 9.00-12.00pm._ It was common knowledge that seventh years always got the latest shifts, even though they were in their NEWT year. Rose smiled. Two more days to go and she would find her time to settle her obsession.

* * *

As Thursday finally arrived, Rose was almost annoyed that her day was mostly full of free periods. This meant she had to keep herself busy which was difficult as her thoughts would consistently turn to what she had planned for that evening. Somehow she bided her time between the library and her personal thinking space (her lake-side tree) until it was time for dinner. Rose made sure to scan the Slytherin table quickly to make sure that Scorpius was indeed going to be completing his prefect duties, and sure enough, he was there. Rose wolfed down her dinner and then headed up to the Griffindor common room before collecting her books and homework and then heading to the library. She waved Albus goodbye as she exited the common room and he winked at her, figuring she was choosing tonight to pull an all nighter in the library.

Rose set herself up in the library at around eight o'clock, figuring that she could actually take advantage of her time there until curfew when her plan would take place. She sat at her usual desk toward the back of the library and took out her study materials. Rose sat there for two hours until the librarian decided it was time to leave as it was almost 10 o'clock which was the curfew time. Rose packed up her belongings and smiled at the librarian before leaving the library and heading to the fourth floor corridor. By the time she reached her destination, it was 10:05 and officially past curfew. The fourth floor corridor was well known for its empty classrooms and closets which seemed appropriate for couples to cavort. Unfortunately most of the prefects knew this so they always included the fourth floor west corridor in their nightly rounds. Only ignorant couples thought to come here. Rose went up to one of the cupboard doors and opened it swiftly. Predictably, there was a couple embracing very tightly in the small space whilst leaning up against the wall. Rose simply cleared her throat and nodded her head, indicating for them to leave. Neither of the occupants questioned whether she was a prefect as they counted themselves lucky that they did not receive a notice of detention. Rose smiled at the empty space and went into hiding. Unfortunately the girl who had occupied the space before her had a very fruity perfume that lingered in the air. Coughing slightly, Rose cast a super-sensory charm on the door before closing it quietly.

Rose waited for at least half an hour before almost considering giving up. However, just as she was about to exit her hiding space, her super-sensory charm picked up the sounds of footfalls. Rose smiled to herself as she heard the two mumbling voices approach. When she figured they were about 10 metres away, she began to make soft moaning noises. Rose continued with these sounds as she listened in to the prefect's conversation.

"Dammit, Scorpius how come every time we come down here we have to bust up some disgusting couple?" Holly asked, clearly sounding put out.

"Aw come on Hols, it's not that disgusting, you know we've seen pretty much the worst of it in our patrol times." Rose heard Scorpius reply.

"That doesn't mean I want to keep seeing kissing couples, or worse." Scorpius chuckled.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with you breaking up with your boyfriend last week perhaps?"

Rose heard nothing for a moment and then another chuckle from Scorpius.

"It's alright Hols, in a minute you can keep going and I'll meet you at the great hall entrance. I'll take care of this seeing as though your delicate Hufflepuff sensibilities can't handle this at the moment."

"Thanks Scor. Did I ever tell you that you were the best patrol partner ever?"

Rose could almost hear Scorpius smiling.  
"You may have mentioned it. Just hang around for a sec in case I need your help."

Rose continued to make her apparent noises of pleasure and saw the light around the door get wider as Scorpius opened it.

"Alright you two are going to have to break it up I'm afr-" Scorpius stopped abruptly as he saw Rose leaning against the wall and smiling widely at him. Scorpius stood staring at her bewildered before prompting himself into action. He closed the door slightly and Rose heard him address his patrol partner.

"I'll handle this Hols, you keep patrolling yeah?"

"Okay, entrance hall it is. See you then," she replied. Once her footsteps had faded, Rose saw the door swing open wider again.

"What the fuck are you doing Weasley?"

Rose just shrugged. "Hanging out in a cupboard. Nice to see you Scorpius."

Scorpius was taken aback slightly by the use of his first name but caught on quickly.

"I can see that _Rose_ but why the fuck are you hanging out in a cupboard and, and making those kinds of noises?" he asked perplexed.

"To catch your attention of course. You were hardly going to go into a cupboard that had no noises coming out of it were you?"

"Why the hell did you want to get caught in the first place you idiot?"

"Meh, I knew you were patrolling and thought it would be a good time to make sure you were doing okay." Rose answered truthfully. Scorpius yet again looked at her bewildered.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be okay?"

'It was your Nan's funeral on Tuesday. Just wanted to make sure you were doing alright."

"Grandma," Scorpius automatically corrected, "and why would you care?"

"You have got to stop questioning why I do things Scorpius, it does get annoying. I only ask that you are grateful. So how are you?"

"I don't know I'm…well I'm fucking weirded out right now. Kind of wasn't expecting this you know. You do realise if Holly had of opened the door instead of me that you would have been screwed?'

"Yes but I knew that being the gentleman you are that you would offer to check this situation out first."

"What so now I'm a gentleman?' Scorpius asked almost amused.

"You call your parents 'mother' and 'father', of course you're a gentleman. So you haven't answered my question. How was the funeral, and how are you?"

Scorpius paused for a moment and leant against the other wall, putting his wand away and running his hand through his hair.

"I'm…well the funeral was a bit sombre but that was expected. Came back Tuesday night and didn't really do anything. But I'm slowly getting there. It was good to say goodbye." He watched as Rose nodded, showing she understood. He then continued.

"What I'm not okay with is you hiding out making moaning noises trying to get my attention!"

"What, got jealous did you?"

"Jealous of a guy with you Rose? Please, give me some credit." He replied with an incredulous intonation.

"Well I'm glad you're okay then." Rose replied.

"Ah yeah, me too."

There was a pause as both students looked around the cupboard. It seemed to be much longer than it was wide.

"Do you really not like my haircut?" Rose asked seriously.

"Um, excuse me?"

"The other day, you said you liked my hair better before. Do you really not like it now?"

"Ah yeah, sorry but I tend to like longer hair on girls?" Scorpius replied with a rising intonation, as if not sure why he was answering her.

"Oh, okay," was all Rose replied. There was another pause.

"It's not that I hate your hair, it's just that I like longer hair."

"That's okay, I just wanted your opinion."

"Right so, we're cool?"

"Yeah, sure!" Rose replied cheerfully. She wasn't quite sure why she had brought up the hair issue, she just wanted to know.

"Um so, I have to get back to rounds. Holly will be a bit suspicious if I don't meet up with her soon. We're heading toward the great hall so just don't go toward the kitchens or anything and you won't get caught."

"Cheers for that."

"Yeah, see ya," Scorpius replied as he opened the door again.

"Scorpius, I'm glad you're going okay." Rose said before Scorpius could leave. Scorpius laughed slightly and shook his head.

"Yeah so am I. See you round Weasley."

"Sure thing Malfoy."

And with that, they once again went back to normal.

* * *

Once again, Rose and Scorpius went back to being on their usual terms. This meant no acknowledgement of each other outside their shared classes, consistent insults and their usual banter. Still no-one had suspected the two of any civil interactions. Originally Rose had thought that her cupboard escapade would be a one time event, but as the next Thursday rolled around, Rose found herself once again hiding out, making some very interesting sounds.

"Sounds like the same people as last week. Don't they learn?" Rose heard Holly say. Rose could almost imagine Scorpius shaking his head.

"Clearly they don't," she heard Scorpius' voice reply, almost as if it was directed straight at the door she was behind.

"Scorp, you want me to-"

"It's okay Hols, I can handle it again. Meet you in the same place."

Once Holly's footfalls became faint and distant, Scorpius opened the door and stared once again at Rose.

"Sounded like you were having slightly more fun this week Rose," he commented.

"I gotta entertain myself in here somehow," she replied, not understanding or reacting to the innuendo in her sentence. Scorpius had to shake his head to deter some rather scandalous thoughts before continuing.

"So what is it this week Rose? Still checking up on me or are you worried that when I insulted your freckles in potions the other day that I was serious?"

"A little from column A, a little from column B. Just thought I would pop by."

"This is hardly popping by Rose, you are quite frankly disturbing my rounds. And these cupboards are usually full of students making out, how the hell did you find one that was empty."

"Oh it wasn't empty,' she replied with a grin.

"So you kicked out an innocent young couple just so you could hide in here and make sexy noises?"

"Pretty much. Desperate times, desperate measures and all that. You think my noises were sexy?"

"Don't flatter yourself Rose, they sounded fake as anything. Intriguing yes, realistic? No."

"Pfft, like you'd know!" Rose retorted keeping a serious face.

"I'll have you know – " Scorpius was cut off by Rose bursting into laughter.

"Oh it's so great to actually torment you and laugh about it."

"That was hardly fair!"

"Oh I think it was! So what's been happening Scorpius?"

"You know, putting up with you in class, homework, prefect duties and that. You?"

"You know, putting up with you in class, homework and hiding out in closets."

"Touche. Seriously Rose, why did you come here?"

"I don't know, I was just on my way back from the library and realised it was your patrol night. I found that after last week, morphing from 'Weasley' to 'Rose' wasn't as hard as it seemed."

"Did you ever think to morph during potions? It would make the whole class go much smoother."

"Yeah but then everyone would know that we had exchanged civil words. I don't think anyone would be happy with that."

Scorpius laughed. "I suppose you're right. But you do realise you slide right back into 'Weasley' mode pretty quickly during these interactions?"

"I do not!" Rose shouted. Scorpius just raised an eyebrow and flicked her increasingly red ear.

"Oh wipe that smug look off your face you wanker," she huffed, slapping his hand away from her ear."

"Well, as long as Weasley is back, I'm gonna go. Meeting Holly and all that you know."

"Yeah okay. See you Malfoy."

"You too Weasley."

* * *

Next Thursday, Scorpius didn't even take notice of the sounds coming out of the fourth floor cupboard door and simply gestured for Holly to continue patrolling without him. He was beginning to wonder whether Holly found this routine a bit suspicious but he didn't think of it for long as he opened the door to greet his sometimes acquaintance.

"Rose."

"Scorpius."

This routine continued for six weeks. Rose would study in the library until it was curfew time and then detour to the fourth floor corridor. After week four the couple that usually occupied the cupboard had learnt that this was now Rose's turf. Rose would hide out until she heard Scorpius and Holly coming down the corridor and Scorpius would wave Holly on and meet Rose. For 10 minutes each Thursday, Rose and Scorpius would enjoy a civil conversation. Sometimes they would talk about school. Other times they would talk about their insults during potions. On occasion they would slip up and resort to their 'enemy' personas and leave each other in a huff. Whatever happened in the cupboard, stayed in the cupboard. It was their unspoken rule. Once outside the realms of the cupboard, they would go back to being Malfoy and Weasley. Not once did one attempt to glance at the other. Not once did they attempt to change their interactions in public. To the outside world, nothing had changed. As far as Rose and Scorpius were concerned, nothing had changed. That was until week seven.

* * *

Rose waited in her usual cupboard on Thursday, eagerly awaiting Scorpius' arrival. She had heard some gossip throughout the week from some of the Hufflepuffs involving Scorpius and his so called Thursday night hook-ups. The rumour stated that Scorpius had busted a couple making out over a month ago, but that he had apparently broken this couple up and continued to meet up with the girl on the fourth floor each time he had rounds. Some people told the story and explained that he was a genius. Others had told the story and sounded rather jealous. Then there were the rest of the people who were simply disgusted that Scorpius would abuse his privileges as prefect in order to make out with his secret girlfriend. It was only prefects who thought this. Rose was so amused by this rumour that she couldn't wait to tell Scorpius. She waited in the cupboard for half an hour as usual. Then an hour went by. Then two. Rose realised with a huff that Scorpius wasn't coming at all tonight and decided to leave her hiding place. On the way back to the common room, she pondered why he mightn't have shown. Maybe he had heard the rumours and stayed away so Holly wouldn't fuel more rumours. Perhaps he wasn't on patrol tonight. Perhaps he had simply grown bored of their short interactions. Rose tried not to let it bother her as she eventually made it to her own bed. She slept badly that night.

* * *

The next week went on as usual. Rose and Scorpius had potions together yet again. The class was filled with the usual insults to one another and competition that defined their relationship. For the first time, Rose wanted to break character and ask him why he didn't meet her the previous week. She fought the urge and instead settled for waiting until Thursday night.

Thursday night came and went again without any visit from Scorpius. Rose decided that maybe it was time to take a hint. There would be no more friendship as 'Rose' and 'Scorpius' that much was clear. Once again, Rose attended potions class on the Friday and sat with her partner. She called him ignorant for almost adding an incorrect ingredient to their potion. He called her an ungrateful wench for yelling at him when he had saved her from a flying beaker that was accidentally sent their way by another student. They left class not talking to one another, as usual.

By Sunday, Rose found that she needed some alone time. She had spent all day Saturday watching her cousin play Quidditch and then celebrating Griffindor's victory. She didn't tell her cousin that throughout the whole game she was actually reading a classic novel and only cheering when the people around her began to clap. After spending a whole day and night with a large group of excited Griffindors, Rose figured it was time to retreat to her tree again. She quickly scooped up the novel that she was reading the previous day from the breakfast table and headed out the great hall doors while shovelling some toast into her mouth. She didn't notice the eyes of someone at the Slytherin table follow her out the door. After a lazy five minute walk, she reached her tree and sat down on one of the protruding roots. She quickly admired the view of the lake and was about to open her book when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a tall figure approaching her tree. It was very rare for anyone to venture this far into the grounds, so one quick glance at the figure indicated that Scorpius was heading her way. In a huff, Rose violently shut her book and then threw it on the ground. She may have loved reading but Rose was never one to show obvious respect to her books. She liked the 'worn' look of second hand books. As Scorpius quickly approached, she went into battle stance. Ears red, arms crossed over her chest and mouth ready to spout any insult that would come to her mind. Scorpius entered the shade of Rose's tree and Rose took a deep breath, ready to berate him.

"Malfoy you've got some-"

But her words were cut short abruptly. Scorpius had not stopped his strides before he reached Rose. Instead he had kept going and rather hastily grabbed her around the waist and held her tightly against his body. He cut Rose's speech off mid sentence by pressing his lips against hers. He held Rose's top lip between both of his but hardly moved as he stood there. Eventually he eased the pressure slightly and went in for another kiss. Rose hadn't reacted throughout this whole ordeal. She stood there; arms slightly bend and not quite touching his shoulders, while her lips remained open slightly. Scorpius finally pulled his mouth away from hers and looked Rose straight into her eyes. His brow furrowed severely as his eyes flicked between hers which were still wide. Scorpius let go of her waist forcefully and almost pushed her backwards. He ran a hand through his hair, then swore.

"Fuck it!" He yelled and kicked one of the tree roots at the same time as punching the trunk.

He turned a murderous glare toward Rose and then stormed off. Rose finally found her voice as he was about 100 metres away.

"Malfoy! MALFOY!" she yelled. The Malfoy in question did not turn around. Rose took an unbelieving glance at her surroundings.

"What the fuck just happened?" she said to herself.

* * *

**A/N: **Please please please review. Also, you ask the questions, I shall answer said questions! Cheers


	3. Because of Internal Battles

**A/N: **Thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter...really glad that the kiss surprised everyone!!! I do have a general direction for this story which, in a nutshell, explains the rest of Rose and Scorpius' time at Hogwarts (which quite frankly is only another two months from the end of this chapter) but I really do want your feedback. All that motivation stuff you know?

**Disclaimer:** Said it before and say it again: Not mine.

* * *

Scorpius strode back to the castle fuming. He couldn't believe the turn of events over the past two weeks. It took him a long time to get used to his strange friendship with Rose, and had only just figured out the rules of their game when he realised that, despite all his best intentions, things had changed. He had silently agreed to continue a brief civil relationship with the oldest Weasley and was glad when their interactions outside the cupboard on the fourth floor had not changed. There were no fleeting glances or silent smiles. There were no in house jokes or understandings between the two during their potions classes. They honestly annoyed each other. Their relationship was simply normal except for 10 minutes on a Thursday evening when they would meet up and live in another world. At first he continued to meet up with her because she intrigued him. He enjoyed watching her switch between her two personas, and especially delighted in the way her ears would redden in warning, indicating that Weasley was about to be unleashed in full force. He also liked the way he could bring her back to 'Rose' by a simple comment or action. Her opinions and advice always surprised him, whether he agreed with them or not and for some reason she could get him to open up about things that he would never consider telling anyone else. He reasoned that because they weren't close that there was no judgement or risk of Rose spreading his news around everywhere. Unfortunately in Scorpius' eyes, he had started to realise just how great the red head was. By week four of their meetings, Scorpius realised he had actually started to look forward to their time together. Holly had become suspicious about Scorpius constantly having to get rid of the 'couple' in the cupboard, and had questioned him about it. Scorpius decided to keep an air of mystery about him and simply smiled at his friend and said "Why, what do you think I'm doing?"

He knew by doing this that the rumours would start, but he was a Malfoy and rumours were the norm for him. What he didn't know was how much Rose would take over his senses. It started simply enough: he woke up one day thinking it was Thursday and was looking forward to his late night meeting in the cupboard. He became moody for the rest of the day when he realised it was only Sunday and he would have to wait another four days to see his new 'friend'. After their next meeting, he began to dream about her. There was nothing risqué during the week five dreams. She was simply in his dreams, sometimes as Rose, sometimes as 'Weasley'. He dreamt of Hogsmeade and she was there. He dreamt of his home and she was there. By week six, things began to get more heated. He dreamt of Hogsmeade and she was there holding his hand or leaning against him. He dreamt of his home and she was lying next to him on his bed, somewhat taking over his personal space. By week seven his dreams had reached furnace proportions. He dreamt of Hogsmeade and she was pressed between him and an alley wall, gasping for breath as he lavished kisses all over her. He dreamt of his home and she was moaning his name as she lay under him on his bed, slowly trailing his hands over her scantily clad form. Scorpius often woke from those dreams feeling a little uncomfortable and in need of a cold shower. Both potions classes during week seven were extremely difficult to attend, as Scorpius would be sitting next to, quite literally, the girl from his dreams. He found it easy to dislike her during these times. He could insult her without concerning himself with her feelings (not that he did that much when he was in 'Malfoy' mode) and get back at her for making him feel unwanted emotions. Unfortunately over the past few weeks, Scorpius had realised that his and Rose's interactions outside the cupboard had, for years, been based on passion. Not the kind of passion that you would normally associate with a romantic interest, but a passion nonetheless. It was for this reason that after week seven, Scorpius didn't want to find out what would happen to his internal monologue during week eight.

Scorpius found that not seeing Rose during weeks seven and eight helped to temper his thoughts. He began to realise that maybe the reason he was thinking these things was because it had been a while since he had been involved in an intimate relationship with a girl and that because Rose was new territory, he simply latched these feelings to her. He reasoned that he was a teenage boy and that a feeling of randiness towards an attractive girl was normal. Although that didn't explain why in his fantasies, Rose once again had long hair. Scorpius even stretched his imagination to relate to his Grandma's passing, arguing that because Rose just happened to be there when he needed someone and that she had almost taken over his Grandma's role of advice giver and mood lifter, that he had mistaken these friendly affections for something more. What Scorpius did know was that he needed to figure out whether these sexual feelings were real or imagined, and the only way to do that was to do something that he knew he would probably regret whichever way the tables turned.

One Sunday morning as he sat moodily eating his breakfast, Scorpius watched as Rose sat at the Gryffindor table, placing a book next to her. She quickly buttered a few pieces of toast and then added a different spread to each piece. She then piled the toast into her left hand and then grabbed the book with her other hand, then as she strode out of the great hall, she fluidly placed a piece of toast in her mouth and exited the room. Scorpius' eyes were on her the whole time and he was determined to figure out his dilemma. He gulped down the rest of his orange juice and then fled from the hall, striding deliberately after the red head. He followed her for five minutes until he saw her begin to set up under the tree. His brain was yelling at him to stop and go back to the castle but this time he wouldn't let his brain win. He stared as she brought a scowl to her face and threw her book down. No doubt her ears were vivid red. He was dealing with Weasley. This wouldn't be pretty. This didn't stop him though. He came closer and fought his way through the tree's branches and saw her mouth open to say something but payed no attention. Without hesitation he grabbed her around the waist and brought her body flush with his. He ignored the internal fire that this action ignited and brought his lips to hers. In the first two seconds, he inwardly rejoiced, he felt nothing untoward! But then he realised how her hands had moved out of her way and her chest was pressed against his. Then he noticed how her lips were slightly open, incredibly warm and moist. He knew she hadn't reacted and he expected this, but what he hadn't expected was that he would enjoy this. He eased the pressure on her lips and leant back slightly, then continued to experiment with the newfound tingling sensations coursing through his body. He had captured her top lip between his and once again applied that blissful pressure. After another couple of seconds he pulled away further this time and took in the look on her face. Her eyes were wide, her hands remained suspended just above his shoulders and her top lip was invitingly red. He continued to stare at her and had to remember what he had kissed her for. He furrowed his brow in thought and then remembered that his experiment was supposed to reveal that he was not in fact attracted to the girl standing in front of him. He pushed her away, feeling angry with himself and frustrated at her for feeling this way. He ran a hand through his hair and then swore.

"Fuck it!" he yelled, knowing that no one else would hear him.

Then he swiftly kicked the tree root and punched the trunk with his fist simultaneously. This hurt immensely but provided the right kind of distraction for him to walk away. As he stormed back to the castle, he heard Rose calling out his last name. Maybe if she had called out 'Scorpius' he may have turned around, but this was too much for one day.

* * *

Scorpius spent the rest of the day in a terrible huff. He locked himself in his dormitory and tried to rationalise everything that had happened; to find a plausible excuse for what he had felt. As he lay on his bed, he caught the slight waft of Rose's scent and sat bolt upright, unsure of how she had gotten into his dormitory. She surely couldn't know the password to the Slytherin common room? Scorpius pulled back the curtain, suddenly realising that an irate Rose Weasley was probably capable of finding a way into his only sanctuary from her. Scorpius scoffed at this thought, as he knew perfectly well that although Rose had never set foot in his room, she haunted him here too. Scorpius scanned the room and realised he was still alone. Strange. He had no doubt that he had smelled her scent. Scorpius moodily ripped his curtain closed again and started frantically searching his bed for something that possibly could have belonged to Rose. Maybe he had accidentally picked up one of her scarves after potions one day. Scorpius stopped looking when he bent down to search the floor when his shirt pulled away from his body. The air which escaped when he abruptly stood up made him dizzy and impossibly angry at the same time. It was him. He had been so close to her that her scent had rubbed off onto him. Scorpius stood there motionless as he lightly fisted the front of his shirt. After another internal battle, Scorpius hastily stripped himself of the shirt and threw it on the floor.

"Fuck!" he yelled to himself for the second time that day.

* * *

Having eaten nothing except a piece of toast for the entire day, Scorpius decided that it was time to brave going to dinner in the great hall. It was nearing 8:30 so the numbers in the great hall were certain to be dwindling. Scorpius made his way to the Slytherin table, eyeing off the remains of the food left on the table. Scowling, Scorpius piled his plate up with the last remnants of roast beef and some sad looking potatoes. Despite having only a measly excuse for a dinner, Scorpius was happy to have something finally in his stomach. Somehow having a less empty stomach made him think a little more rationally. After a day of brooding, he was willing to believe that he would be able to beat the events of the day. This feeling only lasted for as long as it took for Scorpius to exit the great hall.

"Malfoy!" he heard. Shit.

Scorpius decided not to acknowledge the fuming red head, which was quite an incredible feat as that was standing in the middle of the only staircase that lead to his destination. He tried to continue walking but a firm grip on his shoulder halted him for just a moment.

"Look here you over-tall, stuck up, blonde wanker, you better explain to me what the fuck happened this morning."

Scorpius looked down at Rose and glared at her. He still hadn't decided how to handle this situation.

"I don't know what you're talking about Weasley." It appeared he had chosen the 'feigning ignorance' option. Rose's eyebrows knitted together.

"You know, you are such a-"

"What? Such a what Weasley?" he interrupted.

Rose let go of Scorpius in disgust. She had to play along now.

"Fuck you Malfoy." And she stormed off.

* * *

Scorpius figured that he had gotten off pretty easily, despite the continual inner turmoil. He and Rose continued to adopt their surname personas during their only interactions, which were usually during their partnership in potions. Their insults were not affected by the events of that Sunday morning, although Scorpius could have sworn that the insults had become more personal than usual from both parties. There were no fourth floor cupboard visits and no interactions between 'Rose' and 'Scorpius'. That was until week 10.

"Rose, what the fuck are you doing?" Scorpius yelled in an undertone.

"Confronting you, you arsehole! And don't you 'Rose' me!"

"Confronting me about what exactly?"

"You _kissed_ me!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and glared at her.

"I am well aware of that!"

"But why?" she asked forcefully.

"What kind of a fucking idiot question is that? I was the one that did it, how could I not be aware of it!"

"No you eejit! Why the fuck did you kiss me, and without my permission?"

Scorpius wasn't prepared for this onslaught. He had changed his patrol times to avoid this exact interaction. Two weeks his freedom had lasted.

"Because I needed to check something. Do you have a problem with that?" He answered petulantly. Rose looked at him incredulously in the small space.

"Yes I have a fucking problem with that! You attacked me! What the hell did you need to check? That I had chapped lips? That I was as well endowed as Jimmy Simons claimed I was to the rest of the male population here? That you were actually just as pratty as you appear? WHAT?"

"I needed to check whether I felt anything when I kissed you alright?"

Scorpius spat this out before he could even censor what he wanted to say. Rose stood there in dumbfounded shock, simply staring at him open mouthed. Scorpius set his jaw and looked at the floor.

"So did you?" Rose asked. But Scorpius wasn't paying attention, he heard footsteps down the hall.

"Shh." He said putting his hand up. Rosed looked scandalled.

"No I won't fucking _shh_!"

Scorpius rolled his eyes at her and nodded his head toward the door, in a gesture that clearly said 'shut up because people are coming and are going to hear us." Rose simply stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I don't care if people are coming, you are going to answer me!" She whispered loudly.

Scorpius used his hands to make a strangling motion in the air and then put his finger to his lips to tell her to shush again.

"Do NOT _shh_ me Malfoy and fucking answer me!"

Now Scorpius could hear Holly's voice as she and her new patrol partner came closer. Scorpius could see Rose's mouth open to yell at him again but he predicted this and closed the small gap between them and clasped his hand over her mouth. He saw her eyes narrow in outrage and felt her face vibrate as she attempted to yell at him even with her mouth covered. Finally Rose also heard Holly's voice and decided that yelling at Scorpius was not worth getting caught consorting together or risk getting a detention. Scorpius felt Rose's face relax somewhat and realised she was not going to scream at him. He stared pointedly at her in warning and slowly removed his hand. He did not, however move away in case she decided a verbal rant was exactly what she was going to use to punish him. They could hear Holly and her new partner clearly as they seemed to linger around the closed door.

"My god its like doing rounds with an invalid. Look Jensen, I'm not going to join you in an effing closet okay?"

"But isn't that what you and Malfoy get up to in these corridors?"

Rose saw Scorpius' face change from fury to shock. He knew there were rumours about him, but never suspected that other people had involved Holly.

"No it is not!" Holly sounded scandalous.

"Sure. Tell me, is this the closet that Malfoy sneaks off to?" they heard Jensen ask. Scorpius' eyes widened further and he bowed his head, waiting for the worst. There was a pause outside as Holly apparently thought about her answer.

"Actually, yeah it is." She answered. Scorpius now leaned his head next to Rose's against the wall. She could feel the air escape his mouth as he spoke in a whisper.

"Shit!" he stated. Scorpius felt Rose's head nod slightly beside him.

"Well come on, if it isn't you who Malfoy is playing with in closets, don't you want to find out who it is?" Jensen asked Holly.

"Well, yes actually, but what makes you think he's in there? He doesn't do rounds at this time anymore." Holly sounded slightly put out. She and Scorpius had been paired to patrol together for two years now, and he hadn't told her why he had changed times.

"So, put that curious, jealous side of you to work, open the door."

Scorpius continued to whisper next to Rose's ear.

"No, no, no, no." he repeated.

Scorpius was worried that Holly's curiosity would get the better of her. They had been patrol partners for two years and often had a great time together and flirted every now and then. Despite an obvious attraction to one another, the two respected each other too much to be able to take their relationship past the 'friends' stage. Scorpius was praying that right now, Holly wouldn't let her curiosity get the better of her. Apparently his prayers were answered.

"Get away from there Jensen. I don't need to bust Scorp in order to find out who his latest fling is. We're good friends, if it mattered, he would tell me."

"Such a kill joy you are Green." They heard Jensen moan and then there was a loud slap before the footsteps retreated from the offending door.

Rose had closed her eyes in relief when she realised they had left. In the darkness, all she could feel was Scorpius' warm body against hers and his breath against her neck. She suddenly realised that he hadn't answered her question from before. She also realised that Scorpius' breath was now caressing her cheek instead of her neck. She turned her head so her eyes met his, they flashed in anger still.

"You didn't answer me." She said in a whisper. Scorpius stared at her intently.

"You infuriate me." Was all he replied. He maintained eye contact with Rose as he expected her to retort. However, all he noticed was her eyes flick from his, to his lips. Scorpius narrowed his eyes slightly, expecting that this was a challenge.

"So you're okay with that answer?" he asked quietly. Rose's eyes were now fixed on his lips.

"No," she said quietly.

Scorpius wasn't sure exactly what was happening so he decided to do what felt most natural. He leant in a bit closer so that his lips were as close to Rose's without touching. Experimentally, he closed the gap and lightly touched his lips to hers. He quickly retreated and looked at her facial expression. Her eyes seemed conflicted; they were fully open but glazed over. Scorpius decided that no verbal attack was a good sign and leant in again. This time he pressed his lips slightly more firmly to Rose's. He didn't do anything further until he felt her lips finally move slightly to close over his own. It was tentative and unsure but it was a response. Scorpius lightly kissed back and once again pulled away. His breath was coming out in shallow gasps and he realised that, now that Rose was finally breathing, hers was too. He leant in again, pulling her closer to him this time and pressed more firmly. Rose responded again with more pressure, beginning a rhythm between the two of them. They kept this rhythm for a few seconds before pulling away, panting. Scorpius' hand slid up from Rose's waist and ravelled its way into her hair while also serving to pull her face closer again. Their kisses became more desperate by this stage and Rose finally realised that her hands were hanging uselessly by her side. She somehow sent the messages to her hands to move and wrapped one around Scorpius' neck while the other fisted the front of his shirt. Scorpius let out a low, mumbled groan and became more enthusiastic. He released Rose's lips in order to catch his breath again but was unable to find the extra air. Rose's hand threaded through his hair and pulled him closer yet again. Their lips met with a soft moan from Rose as Scorpius' tongue darted out to taste her. The kiss heated up more and Rose pressed herself further into Scorpius. In her own enthusiasm, Rose began to push Scorpius towards the opposite wall, which wasn't hard in the small space. Before Scorpius' back could reach the wall, his feet became tangled with Rose's and he stumbled.

In a chain reaction, he slid down the wall as his feet gave way while Rose also lost her footing and banged her head against the wall. As a result, Scorpius was now uncomfortably positioned on the floor with his legs stretched out as far as the small space would allow, and Rose lay in a tangle of limbs across the floor. Their heavy breathing still occupied the small space but both had stopped their ministrations. Rose somehow flipped herself around so that she was sitting upright, at a right angle to Scorpius. She stared at him open mouthed while she tried to catch her breath, and then swiftly slapped him across his shoulder.

"Ow, what was that for you mad cow?" he exclaimed.

"That," she paused trying to calm her breathing, "was for making me fall!"

"Oh I made you fall? You were the one trying to push me against the wall!"

"Well if you hadn't gotten so enthusiastic, maybe I wouldn't have attempted to do that!"

"Well excuse me if I was enjoying myself. You didn't seem to be complaining!"

"I am now! And – ow!" Rose had hastily brushed some hair from her eyes and realised the bump to her head had left a mark. As soon as she expressed her pain, Scorpius gently removed her hand from her head to have a look.

"Shit, sorry. You must have hit your head pretty hard," he said rather apologetically.

"No shit Sherlock!" Rose exclaimed as Scorpius gingerly touched her head.

"I'm having enough trouble responding between changes to 'Scorpius' and 'Malfoy', could you not add another name to that equation?"

"I wasn't calling – oh for crying out loud I'm talking to a pure blood, of course you wouldn't get that insult." Rose said under her breath and then pouted.

"You know, if you stop squirming I'll be able to fix your head!" Rose just glared at him from her position as he used his sleeve to wipe away some of the blood and dust that was on her head.

"Are you sure you can fix it?" Rose asked quietly.

"Your head? Well I can only fix it to the degree that it was before, other than that I can't make any promises." There was a pause as his insult sunk in. This earned Scorpius another hit to the shoulder.

"Hey we've already got one injury, you want to make our count up to two?"

Rose watched as Scorpius somehow manoeuvred his wand out of his pocket and held it against Rose's injury. He mumbled a few words and Rose felt a warm tingle run through her skin. Then, there was no more pain.

"There, all better." Scorpius stated, turning Rose toward him slightly and wrapping his arms around her waist. Rose thanked him by leaning her newly fixed forehead against his.

"Do you realise that only the two of us could turn an innocent make out session into a war zone?"

Scorpius smiled widely at her.

"It does seem like a crazy thing only you and I could do." Scorpius tried shifting under Rose's weight.

"Um Rose?"

"Yeah Scorpius?"

"Can you move, you've made my leg fall asleep."

Rose lifted her head from Scorpius' and looked at their bizarre positioning. She looked back at Scorpius and started to laugh. Scorpius quickly caught on and soon they were in hysterics, trying to get themselves upright in the confined closet.

Once they had settled themselves down and were finally upright, they waited together at the cupboard door. Scorpius sighed.

"What now?" he asked.

"I suppose we step out of here and go our separate ways." Rose said. Scorpius looked down and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I guess I'll see you around then, Weasley?" Rose gave him an ironic smile.

"I guess so, Malfoy."

* * *

**A/N: **I have a bad habit of doing author's notes at the start and end of my chapters...but let me know what you think about having the chapter from Scorpius' point of view, and what do you think of the relationship developments???

Joelle8, you were pretty much spot on about your theory...I was very impressed! And CaptainSlow, I hope you enjoyed the change in POV...

PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	4. Because Nobody Knows

Chapter 4: Because no one knows

**A/N: **So sorry for the delay on this chapter peoples! I hope it doesn't disappoint…a lot happens but really rather quickly so I hope you understand it! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! VERY much appreciated!

**Disclaimer:**Don't own it!

* * *

Scorpius didn't know whether to scream or cry. Well, he certainly wasn't going to burst into tears in the middle of his potions lesson, that wouldn't be very manly. Although screaming like a homicidal maniac also would make people question his sanity. He had been doing quite a lot of that himself lately. It had been only last night that Scorpius had gone through an admittedly glorious encounter with his potions partner, but right now he was nothing short of killing her. Rose's hand kept brushing his arm, his leg, his shoulder as she reached for ingredients or stirred the potion mixing in the cauldron. Scorpius was under the impression that when they left the confines of the closet, they were no longer 'friends' or whatever their strange meetings had lead to. It was for this reason that he thought she was simply playing dirty.

When they had entered the room, there was not so much as a flicker of recognition between the two. They each said a snide remark to one another as they collected the ingredients for their blood clotting potion. Scorpius called Rose a curly orangutan. Rose retaliated by turning his hair red. Scorpius didn't realise until five minutes later when he caught a glimpse of himself in a metal measuring spoon. There was some swearing and Scorpius made a jibe at Rose, something along the lines of "If you wanted me that badly, you could have at least asked me out so I could reject you, you didn't have to turn my hair red to see what your future fantasy kids with me would look like." Scorpius thought that this might have been where he had gone wrong. After this remark, Rose had given him her best 'I despise you' look and never dignified him with a retort. Since then, they had said nothing to one another, but Scorpius felt as though she was getting him back pretty easily. He was certain that she was deliberately torturing him with her subtle touches. However, if she thought that she was causing him some form of sweet torture, she would be wrong. As Rose reached for the ginger on Scorpius' side of the table, he lost it.

"Will you stop fucking touching me Weasley!"

Rose looked genuinely shocked.

"What the fuck is your problem _Malfoy?_"

"You keep touching me, you're in my space!"

"_Your_ space?"

"Yes _my_ space! Ever heard of a personal space bubble?"

"Have you ever heard of tact?"

"Oh, you're one to talk about tact."

"Well I certainly have more tact than you have brains. Or human characteristics."

"Oh so I'm not even human now. Congratulations Weasley, you have officially downgraded me to the lowest form of specimen to date."

"I never specified exactly what kind of specimen you are – I just simply noted you were not of the human variety."

"Do go on and enlighten me with your thoughts, please!"

"Well right now I think likening you to a swine is not far off the mark."

Scorpius rolled his eyes, grabbed the next ingredient and began chopping furiously.

"How original, calling me a pig Weasley. Why don't you put your overlarge head to good use for once and actually come up with something witty or of significance."

Scorpius heard Rose gasp.

"Malfoy stop!"

"Growing some feelings now are we?" Scorpius replied, still chopping the leaves.

"No Malfoy, STOP!" Rose yelled, grabbing Scorpius by the elbow to stop his chopping motion. Scorpius was about to yell at Rose to once again get out of his personal space, but noticed the look of horror on her face as she stared at his hands. Scorpius followed her gaze and was startled to find that his hands were red and weeping. The sores were slowly spreading up to his wrists and they wouldn't stop there. As if seeing were feeling, Scorpius suddenly realised that his hands were stinging and burning. He dropped the knife and tried to brush the last remnants of the leaves from his fingers, but that only intensified the pain.

"PROFESSOR!" Rose yelled. Professor Eaves barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes. Any shouts from Rose and Scorpius' part of the room usually did not end pleasantly. It was a pity that they were the only two students who particularly matched each other in this subject.

"Miss Weasley, there is no need to shout." The professor said as she calmly headed in the direction of the shout. "Now please _calmly_ tell me what has happened and I'll determine whether your shouting was valid or not."

As the professor reached the back table she realised there was an absence of Scorpius' usual retorts and verbal attacks to his potions partner which would be expected in any usual case.

"Professor – he- it was the phosphochlorous leaves – no gloves, and – " Rose simply gestured to Scorpius' seemingly mangled hands. The professor took one look at Scorpius' hands and said two words – 'hospital wing' – and gestured to Rose. Rose quickly nodded and pulled Scorpius up by the elbow. He still hadn't said anything.

* * *

As Rose dragged Scorpius out of the classroom to the shocked expressions of their classmates, she regained the speech that Scorpius seemed to have lost and started to yell at him again.

"What kind of a _moron_ chops up phosphochlorous leaves without dragon-hide gloves?"

Scorpius was distracted from his hands for the first time. His eyes flared angrily yet again – something that seemed natural whenever Rose was around.

"What kind of ingredient in a blood _clotting _potion makes you fucking _bleed_ when you touch it?"

"Phosphochlorous leaves! Why the hell didn't you use the gloves?"

"I don't know, maybe I was so irritated by the person sitting next to me that I didn't pay enough attention!"

"What so this is my fault now is it?"

"Well if you hadn't started yelling at me!"

"Well if you hadn't been such an arsehole!"

Scorpius tried to clench his fists in anger but realised too late that his hands were still maimed.

"Argh fuck!" Rose looked at him with what he could have sworn was sympathy.

"Look just, shut up and we'll get there quicker."

Scorpius couldn't even find it in himself to come up with a retort to this. In fact it kind of seemed a good idea.

After the nurse had attended to Scorpius' wounds, wrapped up his hands and gave him a very sweet potion to take, the curtains were finally drawn back. Not feeling like listening to Rose go on about how much of an idiot he had been for touching one of the most acidic plant leaves in the world, Scorpius decided to feign sleep. He deliberately slowed his breathing and closed his eyes. He saw the shadow from Rose's looming figure through his closed eyelids. He could feel the heat from her hand very close to his arm, and suddenly it was rather difficult for him to keep his steady breathing rhythm. Something about being alone with this girl, whether in the broom closet or elsewhere, seemed to flip a switch in Scorpius' head. One minute he could be genuinely irritated by her in class and the next, she could make his heart race faster than he thought was healthy. He heard rather than felt Rose lean her head down close to his.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Then she walked away.

* * *

Scorpius swiftly opened his eyes and saw Rose's retreating back leave the hospital wing. He subconsciously held his breath as he thought of the possible meanings to that short sentence.

'I'm sorry…" Scorpius still racked his brains to find the intended meaning behind those words three days after the event. Why exactly was she sorry? For brushing up against him which set off his initial tirade? For continuing to bait him throughout their interaction? For yelling at him yet again once she lead him out of the classroom? For what had happened to his hands?

Scorpius dearly hoped it was the latter option, for if she was sorry he got hurt, that may mean she had shown some feeling toward him when she was in Weasley mode. Normally he loved to hate her, even after their amazing (in his opinion) rendezvous a few nights previously, he still found it in himself to despise little things about her. But after her two parting words in the hospital wing, he was scared that maybe he couldn't find it in himself to dislike her anymore; no matter what the situation, the location or the audience. The events of the next week unfortunately proved his own thoughts.

During potions on the Monday, Scorpius couldn't help but notice how Rose's leg was consistently touching his throughout the lesson. He got angry with her. She got angry with him. He remembered to put on his gloves when handling corrosive plant life. He didn't realise that he stared at her a little longer than what would be considered normal.

On Tuesday, Scorpius unfortunately chose the seat at the Slytherin table that faced the Gryffindor table. In the middle of a conversation with his friends which apparently should have been very entertaining, Scorpius was distracted by his potions partner across the room eating a mango. Ordinarily this wouldn't be such an issue, however in Scorpius' new frame of mind (which he was scared he was becoming far too used to) Rose getting one of her two serves of fruit for the day became the most deliciously distracting event in the entire great hall. He watched as she multi-tasked; talking to her cousin who sat next to her while also scoring the mango down the centre and breaking the fruit into two. This was hardly distracting in itself but Scorpius was for lack of a better word, intrigued. While continuing to talk to her cousin, Rose used the knife to score a criss-cross pattern into the fruit. As Rose put down the knife and licked what Scorpius assumed was a drip of mango juice from her wrist, he was no longer intrigued. He was hooked. He watched as she inverted the mango halve so that a dozen little squares of fruit now faced upright. He knew what was coming and should have known to look away but he couldn't. He watched entranced as Rose paused in her discussion with her housemates to suck free one of the mango cubes. With each cube, Scorpius found it to become hotter and hotter in the great hall. His friends didn't seem to realise that he was entirely distracted and continued talking at him. If anyone had asked Scorpius an hour before whether he ever considered becoming a fruit, he would have laughed in their face. Now, he would have given anything to trade places with that mango. He watched as the entire fruit eventually became devoured by Rose and as he did so, his hand went further and further into his hair. By the time Rose had finished the mango half Scorpius' face was almost touching the table and his hair was at risk of being ripped from his head. He couldn't stay to see the second half of the mango saga. He made an excuse to exit the hall and wandered the corridors aimlessly for a while. Unconsciously he made his way to the broom closet on the fourth floor. He opened the door and threw himself in. He rested his forehead against the cool stone wall and willed himself to get a grip. Hormones were not his favourite thing in the world right now.

By Wednesday, hormones _really_ weren't his favourite thing in the world. In fact, he despised them. It had been a long and relatively Rose free day which relieved Scorpius somewhat. Since he had swapped his Thursday night patrol shift, he now completed an earlier shift on a Wednesday night which meant he finished his patrolling at 9 o'clock instead of the usual 11.30. Upon finishing his shift he quickly ducked down to his dormitory and then headed for the prefect's bathroom. As he opened the door, he noticed the room was full of steam. It was not unusual for the previous person to forget to turn on the fan to disperse the steam. Scorpius had been reprimanded constantly at home for not remembering to turn the fan on when showering. Since he had learned his lesson he too disliked walking into a room full of steam.

"Lazy shit, this castle's so old any kind of mould could grow here,' he mumbled as he took out his wand. He performed a quick incantation that was effective in clearing the steam, and his view of the room. What he hadn't realised through all the steam was that someone had completely filled the pool sized bath with the different bubbles and scented water. He also didn't realise that there was someone changing in the corner of the room. Scorpius couldn't believe his luck when he realised that the person in the corner appeared to be a girl…who had apparently just taken her shirt off…and wore a blue bra. He almost let out a compliment and an apology to the girl in question. Until he finally looked north of the border and realised who the attractive pair of (he corrected himself; the attractive girl) in front of him was.

"What the fuck are you doing in here Malfoy?" Rose screamed as she hastily grabbed her discarded shirt and held it to her chest.

Scorpius really should have been expecting this. She had been everywhere this week.

"Weasley?"

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

Scorpius had the sense to look slightly ashamed of himself.

"I was going to take a – hang on, this is the prefect's bathroom. What are _you_ doing here?"

Now Rose looked slightly ashamed. But only ever so slightly.

"I _was_ going to take a bath. Is that alright with you?"

"Do you have a badge in the shape of a 'P'?"

"No."

"Then I guess it's not okay with me! How the hell did you even get in here Weasley?"

"Well you see, there are these things called friends which sometimes like to do favours for who they also consider to be their friends."

"Believe it or not I do know how the 'friends' social system works. Shocking to you that I have friends, I know!"

"Well at least we can agree on one thing."

"You still didn't tell me how you got in here."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Albus gave me the password. The prefect's bathroom just seems more private than the ones in the dormitory. Well, seem_ed_." Rose paused. "You do realise that you are still here don't you?"

"Clearly I am aware Weasley, I came here to take a bath and seeing as though I am actually a prefect I believe I belong here more than you do."

"I don't care if you are a prefect or not! I got here first! I've filled up the bath, I chose the bubbles and scents so you are interrupting _my_ bath!"

"Will you just get out? I need to take a bath."

"Well I wont argue that point, but no I shan't!"

"What is it with you Weasley? Why the hell do you have to be so defiant? This is a prefect's bathroom, you are not a prefect, end of story."

"In case you hadn't noticed, I was here first and if you considered yourself even a quarter of a gentleman you would leave. Not that you would possess any gentlemanly qualities whatsoever but I trust that coming from your upbringing that your family taught you at least something of appropriate etiquette."

Scorpius blanched at her jibe about his upbringing. He was particularly sensitive about his family, as she should know from their first civil encounter all those weeks ago.

"Yeah you're right Weasley, I may be from a snobby upper class upbringing, but you know what?" He paused for good effect. "I'm not the one standing here without a shirt on."

Scorpius turned around and headed for the door, holding on to his towel more tightly than necessary. He paused as he reached for the door handle.

"Lucky you weren't sorted into Ravenclaw Weasley. Blue really isn't your colour."

And with that comment, he stormed out of the bathroom and back down to the dungeons.

* * *

Scorpius spent the whole of Thursday trying not to fall asleep at his desk. The previous night he couldn't get a particular image out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. As a result, he had had very little sleep. And man did he try. He had made sure to turn his back to the Gryffindor table during breakfast and lunch. Somehow all he could think about were mangoes. Luckily, Scorpius kept his head up all day when walking in the corridor and never glanced at a strand of red hair, which was quite a feat considering how many ginger Weasleys there were in the school.

After spending all day trying to avoid thoughts of Rose, Scorpius couldn't believe what he did next. He went to the cupboard on the fourth floor. As he opened the door at almost 10 o'clock, he wasn't sure whether he was relieved or irritated that the cupboard was empty. Hardly believing his own actions, Scorpius let out a frustrated sigh and went to the back of the tiny space. Not for the first time, he slid down the wall and held his head in his hands.

"What the fuck is wrong with me?" he mumbled into his hands.

"Well, I could list everything down alphabetically if you would like?" came a voice who appeared to be only a shadow in the bright doorway. Scorpius looked up bewildered.

"You're having a mental breakdown in a fourth floor broom cupboard with the door wide open, just for starters."

Scorpius blinked as Rose closed the door and provided them with wand light. He remembered he had the ability to talk and finally replied to her.

"I'd hardly say the letter 'M' was toward the start of the alphabet." He had wanted to use her name at the end of that sentence, but he wasn't sure where they stood at the moment.

"Well maybe I don't have as many bad things to say as I thought." Rose shrugged and smiled down at him. She held out her hand to help him up but he continued to look at her. Rose rolled her eyes and ended up sliding down the wall herself and sat facing him. She glanced at his hands which were resting on his knees.

"Your hands look much better. Are they okay?" she asked as she reached out to touch one of his hands.

"Don't." He wanted it to sound forceful but it came out more of a plea.

"Oh come on, you can't seriously be going on about your personal space bubble again? We are in a tiny closet, there is no such thing as personal space in here!"

"You knew exactly what you were doing in potions last week!" he let out forcefully. He had finally found the voice he was looking for. Rose looked confused.

"Well it is one of my best subjects, I often do know what I'm doing." She answered perplexed.

"Don't give me that bullshit, you know what I mean!"

"Actually I don't."

"Oh, really?" Scorpius said as he held up his hands. In the light Rose could see very faint scars that left almost a turtle shell pattern over his hands. She looked upset.

"I can't believe you are blaming me for that! And – and – I apologised." She looked him in the eye but seemed unsure of herself. "Didn't I?"

"Oh, while I was asleep, how fucking big of you!"

"Hang on, you faked being asleep?"

"Well, I couldn't stand you yelling at me again for being so stupid when you were the one who started it with, with your-"

Rose suddenly jumped to her feet, Scorpius following her shortly after. She yelled up at his looming figure.

"I cannot believe you are blaming me for your own stupidity! We fight all the time, how the hell was I supposed to know that you were going to go all aggro and forget to use gloves?"

"Hey, I can handle you yelling at me-"

"Well clearly not if you had to feign sleep to avoid me!"

"-but you broke the rules by touching me!"

Rose looked taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"Quit the act, you knew what you were doing. You know, your leg brushing up against mine, your hand _grazing_ my arm as you reached for the ingredients, when you put your fingers on mine because you said I was stirring the wrong way." Scorpius looked at her almost in disgust. Rose on the other hand looked slightly amused.

"So," she said quietly, lightly brushing his fingers with hers. "you found this, distracting?"

Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her.

"Pfft, hardly."

Rose encased his hand in hers and slowly began to stroke his palm.

"But you just said that it was _me_ who caused you to forget to wear your gloves, and the reason was not because I was yelling at you but because I was touching you."

Scorpius was beginning to lose his train of thought at her voice. Fruit was again at the forefront of his mind.

"I didn't – I mean I don't – "

He completely lost his train of thought as Rose trailed her hand up to his neck and let it rest lightly there.

"You didn't what Scorpius?"

She said his name, that was all he needed. He reached out with the intention of holding her to him but Rose leaned her upper body away from him and smiled widely.

"Oh I so won, you wanted to kiss me just then!" Scorpius groaned and almost pushed her away from him.

"I can't believe even you would-" He was cut off as Rose leaned heavily into him and captured his lips with hers. The kiss was demanding and full of passion. Scorpius realised that he was the one who hadn't responded this time and decided it was time for action. He had dreamt about her like this for exactly a week now and he knew he couldn't miss this opportunity. Scorpius opened his mouth to her and held her closer. Unfortunately Rose took this moment to realise she was human and needed to breathe. She leant away from him only slightly and took in shallow breaths. She lightly kissed him again before whispering.

"Don't worry, I wanted to kiss you too."

"Merlin you really do infuriate me," Scorpius breathed out just before closing the gap between them again.

* * *

Scorpius spent every day of the next four weeks in sweet agony. Rose would unconsciously drive him insane during the days that he had potions with her. Actually, she knew she drove him insane, just not in the way she thought. Scorpius had never hated being a horny teenager as much as he did during those moments. This particular day, Rose had leant down to pick up her quill that she had just dropped and her shirt leant to the left, exposing a blue bra strap. He stared at her shoulder as he thought of their encounter in the closet the previous night – one of the more heated encounters they had experienced since mutually returning to their meeting place.

_Rose stood pinned to the wall of the closet. This was one of the very rare times that it was her back against the wall rather than Scorpius'. For some strange reason, she often took the lead during their encounters and seemed to be the more enthusiastic of the two. Tonight however, Scorpius had taken charge. _

"_What's with you tonight?" she asked huskily as he nipped his way down her neck to her collarbone. "Not that I'm complaining mind you,' she almost moaned out. She felt his hot breath travel up to her ear._

"_There was fruit at breakfast."_

"_One day I'll figure out what your obsession with fruit is." Rose said before angling his face toward her. She could feel him smirking as he kissed her._

"_I highly doubt that Rose," he said against her lips. He loved saying her name just about as much as he loved hearing her say his. He leant into her further and grazed his hand down her side. He almost felt his heart stop beating when he realised Rose's shirt had come out from the band of her skirt and he felt the warm flesh of her hip. He felt his fingertips shake slightly as he slowly slid more of his hand under the fabric. He groaned when he felt her wrap her leg around his and slowly slid it up to his waist. This was already much further than they had gone before. Previously he had wondered how far their love/hate relationship could really take them before they had to let other things like feelings get in the way. For the moment though, this was pure attraction. He felt his mind haze over as Rose's hands gripped at his shirt and hair. He was sure he didn't even know his name when she started kissing along his jawbone and down his neck. His grip on her waist tightened when he felt her tongue flick out to taste him. Almost impatiently, he started untucking the other side of Rose's shirt and while she was busy turning his mind into a foggy marsh, he somehow manoeuvred his hands to the bottom button of her shirt. She pulled away from him as far as their close approximation would allow and stared straight into his eyes. He stared at her as if questioning whether this was crossing the line, but she gave the slightest of nods as if to say it was okay and Scorpius began attempting to undo her buttons. Unfortunately for him, his hands were still shaking slightly so undoing the twelve buttons was not an easy task. Rose had closed her eyes at the sensation of Scorpius' warm hands lightly brushing her stomach as he ascended at each button. Scorpius saw her hold her breath as he reached the topmost fastened button. She opened her eyes again as the button was loosed and his eyes scanned her torso. _

"_Maybe you should have been a Ravenclaw after all," was all he said and Rose smiled as she forcefully hugged him to her again. _

Despite their obvious change of relationship in secret, no-one from outside their club of two could tell that anything was different between them. In fact, they probably argued more often than usual now. People often joked about the chemistry between the two best potions students. They didn't know just how right they were.

* * *

Feeling particularly joyful that Sunday, Scorpius decided he would do something out of the ordinary. This was exactly the way Rose found him as she took her book to her favourite part of the grounds. Needless to say, seeing a joyful Scorpius Malfoy setting a picnic under her favourite tree was somewhat unnerving.

"Malfoy, what do you think you're doing?"

"Rose! Thought you might come here." He smiled as he gestured towards the checkered rug as if to say 'isn't it obvious?'

Rose dropped her book to her side and deliberately strode towards the boy and used her other hand to feel his forehead.

"Are you _ill_ Malfoy or just _insane?_" She only got a bigger smile in response.

"I don't know, maybe a little of both. Come on, just sit Rose, no-one's going to see us."

Rose simply stared him down. Scorpius was starting to think that his plan was a little misguided.

"Ah, why don't you have a muffin?"

"I already ate." Rose said shortly. Scorpius nodded and used his wand to vanish the food. He didn't mind that he hadn't had breakfast yet, Rose's attitude was making him lose his appetite. He was sure that after all these weeks they could acknowledge outside of the closet that something was going on between them. He still didn't want anyone else to know, but surely they could change something between them. He wanted more 'Rose and Scorpius' not 'Weasley and Malfoy'.

"How about you just sit down then?" He asked, hoping that he didn't sound nervous.

"I wanted to read my book."

"Well you can read it here then." He said with a note of finality. Rose still looked miffed but she at least hadn't called him 'Malfoy' again. She slowly made her way over to the picnic rug and sat beside Scorpius. Scorpius sat with his back against the tree, so Rose lay almost a foot away from him and suspended her book in the air to begin reading.

Scorpius had to admire her determination to avoid him. At least she had stayed, she could have easily stormed off on him. He had watched her for half an hour, and in the last ten minutes she hadn't turned a page or even moved her eyes. He boldly held his hand out and traced it down her arm until he took the book away from her.

"I was reading that," she said grumpily.

"No you weren't." he said and kept his hand on hers, playing with her fingers.

"How the hell would you know?" she asked rudely.

"Because," he started, leaning in to lightly brush his lips just behind her left ear. "You're eyes hadn't moved for ten minutes."

"So now you're a stalker?"

Scorpius laughed.

"No, I was just enjoying the view." He leaned back on his hand as he propped himself up on his elbow. He thought he saw something flicker in her eyes but as soon as he thought he did, it was gone. She didn't reply though, just stared at the canopy of branches above them. Scorpius continued to observe Rose and unconsciously lifted his hand to rid her of a strand of hair across her eyes. At this, she finally looked at him. Scorpius kept his hand at the side of her face, his thumb tracing patterns across her cheek which was going rather pink. Scorpius dropped his gaze to her mouth and noticed that she must have been biting her bottom lip from the inside of her mouth. He couldn't believe how different he felt today nor how clear his thoughts were about the girl below him. He dropped his head slowly and lightly touched his lips to hers. He rejoiced inwardly as he felt her respond. He ran his hand down her arm and entwined his fingers with hers. He pressed harder on her lips and coaxed her mouth open. She opened her mouth willingly and his tongue met hers in what seemed to be a tentative display of affection. He wouldn't let her quicken the pace as he continued to kiss her deeply, and something about this was what broke her. Rose's eyes flew open as she pushed Scorpius away from her and sat up quickly.

"What the fuck was that?" She asked.

"What was what?" Scorpius replied, sounding rather slow on the uptake.

"That! That kiss?" Scorpius furrowed his brow.

"Um, exactly that? A kiss?"

"No, no that was not just a kiss. You _kissed_ me!" She sounded rather panicked.

"Yeah, what's your point?" Rose looked at him as though he was mad.  
"My _point_ Scorpius, is that you just _kissed_ me! You've never kissed me like that!"

"Like what?"

"Like you like me!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble Rose but we've kissed quite a bit before now."

Rose was getting more frustrated.

"No, no we haven't! We've snogged, we've argued and had heated moments and, and have chemistry, we do NOT _kiss! _We have rules to this and you're refusing to abide by them!_"_

"I don't remember ever making any _rules_ Rose!" Scorpius was starting to get irritated himself now.

"Yes we did! Sure they were unspoken but we made them! I'm Weasley and you're Malfoy and the only time that has ever changed has been in that damned closet! You've totally stuffed up our rules and exposed our closet world to the real world!"

"Why exactly is that a bad thing? It's not like anyone can see us here! To everyone else we still are Weasley and Malfoy! Why can't we just have something outside of that fucking closet?"

"I don't care if no-one can see us, it's the principle of the thing! You've ruined our thing!"

"Could you be more immature Rose? I have not ruined our 'thing' as you call it, you're doing that perfectly well by yourself right now," Scorpius spited.

"Excuse me! You were the one who was angry at me for apparently breaking the rules a few weeks ago when I apparently touched slash tortured you in potions that time, which by the way I was not meaning to do you cocky git!" Rose took a breath and kept ranting.

"and, and – and you were the one not wanting to 'break the rules' in the first place and here you are kissing me like you actually mean it and enjoy it and then you say you love me and its just too freaking much!"

"Wait – what? Rose I never said I loved you."

Rose looked at him pitifully.

"Yes, yes you did, you were kissing me under _my_ tree and you looked all deep into my eyes and said I – " Rose stared off into space for a moment. She put her hands up to her mouth. "Oh fuck, you didn't!"

Rose's once pink face had paled significantly.

"No, no I didn't."

Rose sat down on the picnic mat and stared off into space again.

"I'm sorry. I can't believe how freaked out I am right now."

"That's okay, um, I think." Scorpius replied as he pondered what exactly she was apologising for. Was it for being rude to him or for freaking out because she thought he loved her.

"I just – this thing we have going. It's not exactly easy to figure out."

"Yeah, I know."

"And we've only ever met up in that damned closet and things have only ever happened on a Thursday night so you can't blame me for getting freaked out about a Sunday morning picnic in broad daylight. It's not a natural progression!"

Scorpius looked a little mopey.

"I just felt like doing something different." He mumbled. Rose looked at him.

"Oh, well. Thanks."

There was a huge pause.

"You're welcome."

Another pause.

"Well, this is awkward."

* * *

**A/N** not quite a cliff hanger but still, I'm sure people are not sure what will happen next! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was quite hard to put together so seems to be a little of a mish/mash…

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!


	5. Because you can't say it

A/N:

Howdy, it's been a while! My life has been rather hectic this year but luckily insomnia has hit yet again (I blame the weather) and I have had time to do some more of this story. There will be one more chapter after this one so this is the set up for that really! Hope you like!

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

* * *

Rose was scared. She lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling, not knowing exactly what had occurred that afternoon. She and Scorpius had rules to their relationship. Granted, they had never discussed any rules, nor had they even defined what they were doing as any form of relationship, but Rose thought that they had a silent and mutual agreement that nothing was serious. When they were alone and either one of them called the other by their first name, that was the cue to abandon all usual pretences and act civilly toward one another, if not also a little hormonal at times. But that's what Rose thought this was; a relationship based initially on mutual experience with losing a loved one which had eventually morphed into more of an illicit attraction, aimed to satiate their somewhat building attraction to one another. What they were doing was taboo. It felt wrong when they were together so therefore it _was_ wrong. What Rose couldn't figure out was whether the reason their 'relationship' was secret because they were only doing it to fulfil their normal teenage hormones, or whether there were actual feelings underlying it all and they kept it secret simply because Malfoys and Potters have never gotten along and they didn't want to have to have the task of explaining themselves to everyone. Rose was scared that their rules had been broken and Scorpius had developed feelings for her. She thought about the way that he had kissed her that afternoon. It had been gentle and slow, as if he had all the time in the world to kiss her and make her feel special. A kiss like that meant that there was no hurry. A kiss like that meant that there would be many more kisses to come to be caught up in passion and need. A kiss like that meant that he wanted to make her _feel_ and let her know how she made _him_ feel. In all the weeks that they had their secret rendezvous, they had never once had a slow kiss. Every kiss had been filled with urgency and need and was hurried. Him kissing her like that now, and the thoughtfulness of the picnic indicated that he was trying to tell her something and that he was trying to make her feel special. What scared Rose even more was that she completely believed that Scorpius was capable of saying he loved her. Why else would she accuse him of saying those three words if she didn't believe herself that he was capable of them? What scared Rose the most was that now whatever they were doing was quite possibly over now. It was this thought that confused her. How could she so adamantly believe that he may have feelings for her and yet when she mentioned that she thought he said 'I love you' he seemed just as adamant that he didn't?

Each of Rose's thoughts were jumbled and often conflicted with other theories she had which just made the situation even more confusing. They didn't know each other, not properly, so how could feelings be involved in the first place? Then again, if they didn't know each other that well, how could Rose so sure that _all_ they were feeling was simple lust? Rose grabbed her spare pillow and forcefully covered her own face, as if to muffle the jumbled mess that was screaming inside her head. All Rose knew at that moment was for whatever reason, she was still scared.

* * *

The next day, Rose felt no better with the knowledge that she would have to sit with Scorpius during potions and act as though nothing had happened the day before while also mustering the energy to insult him as she usually did. What made her feel slightly better was that as soon as she took her seat next to the offending blonde, Professor Eaves announced that this week's task was theoretical and would require all students to spend both lessons in the library researching a particular potion. Rose perked up considerably and didn't even need to find the energy to be hostile toward her partner as it seemed to come so naturally.

"Right Malfoy, you can go into the restricted section and research the side affects of a poorly brewed draught of the living death and its uses in dark magic, and I will research the methodology of the brewing. We can collate our notes during Friday's lesson. And before you ask, _I_ will be researching the methodology because _I_ am better at following the actual instructions when brewing potions, whereas _you_ may need to know what side affects to look for in your victim for when you make this potion poorly in the future and need to find them an antidote. See you on Friday."

Rose stalked her way out of the classroom and straight to the library without letting Scorpius even attempt a comeback. She didn't want to talk to him under any circumstances at this point in time.

Rose spared no thought for Scorpius during the week. That was until Thursday when she unconsciously made her way to the fourth floor and only realised where she was going when she saw the closet door in front of her. She had no idea if she wanted to open the door and wait as she had been doing, or whether she should run screaming in the opposite direction and never glance upon the blonde ever again. She stood there trying to make a decision for so long, that she ended up not having to decide after all. She heard the voices of Scorpius and Holly coming around the corner and had no choice but to open the closet door and hide within its depths. She sat on the ground at the very back until the muffled voices became clear.

"Hm, the closet seems to be quiet tonight Scorp." Rose heard Holly say. She could almost picture Malfoy's expression as she waited to hear his answer.

"It does seem that way Hols." There was another pause.

"So are you ever going to tell me who you meet in there or do I have to open the door and see who it is one of these days? Or should I say one of these Thursdays?"

Rose heard Scorpius chuckle.

"I'm meeting nobody, how many times to I have to tell you?"

"Hm, nobody. Sounds like its serious then?"

Rose didn't hear an answer and figured Scorpius was rolling his eyes in his usual manner.

"Scorp, how many times do I have to tell you that you really need to pick up your game? You are such a great guy yet no one, I mean, no girl is ever going to see that if you continue to have meaningless flings or treat girls the way that you do."

"Hey, I'll have you know just as many girls like to be 'flung' as what guys do. And besides, why would I need any other girl to see just how 'wonderful' I am if I can just hang out with you?"

It was Holly's turn to roll her eyes.

"Hols, I promise that I'm not hurting anyone. My situation with the 'closet chick' as you call her is strictly mutual and has unspoken rules that should _not_ be broken."

"Sounds like someone broke one of those rules."

"No, not broken, just bent slightly and put back in place."

Rose hoped that Holly was giving Scorpius a very calculating stare at this point. Just then Rose heard a tapping on the door that she was currently, sort of, hiding behind.

"Closet chick? Hopefully you are actually behind there tonight, otherwise I'm talking to an empty room. I don't need to know who you are or why you have a mutual agreement with Scorpius Malfoy and I'm not even sure if you are the same person each time, but I just want to say that I hope this is exactly what you want. If its not, make sure you go out and find what you're looking for, because everyone deserves to get what they want."

Rose sat there in shock for a moment and listened to the scuffle that happened outside for a moment.

"See you downstairs Scorp."

There was a whole minute where all Rose could hear was Holly's fading footsteps. It wasn't until she saw the door handle turning that she decided she should probably stand up and at least pretend to look casual. Rose could hardly see the features of Scorpius' face due to the light coming in behind him. When he spoke, he didn't use any names so Rose wasn't sure which mode they were in.

"So is this what you want? All that you want, I mean?"

Rose knew he was referring to Holly's speech and subsequent advice.

"Yes." She paused. "What about you? Is this all that you want?"

Scorpius answered without hesitation, "Yes."

"Okay then." She replied. Scorpius grinned and then moved much closer to Rose.

"Good."

As his lips came down on hers, everything was as it should be. There was urgency. There was passion. There were no slow kisses or mixed messages. During potions the next morning, neither found it difficult to resort back to their surname personas.

* * *

Rose and Scorpius were back to what they considered normal over the next couple of weeks and things were continuing without complication. By the time school holidays came around Rose was feeling as though the fear she had felt after Scorpius' impromptu and slightly unwelcome picnic had completely dissipated. As she sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express waiting for her cousin Albus to join her, she thought back to what Scorpius had said about his 'closet chick': _"It's strictly mutual and has unspoken rules that should not be broken."_ Simply by hearing Scorpius say this to Holly, Rose knew that their silent agreement was valid and respected. She had been reading so much into what happened that crazy Sunday afternoon and had feared she would have to confront him about it. But Holly had done that for her and now she understood the situation clearly and things were back as they should be. It was for this reason that Rose did not turn Scorpius away when she looked up to see him standing in the doorway of her compartment.

"Sitting with all your friends?"

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Unlike you, I don't need people to hang on my every word and be at my beck and call."

"So I'm guessing your last slave died of boredom then?"

"Witty Scorpius. Now come in and shut the door before someone sees you."

Scorpius did as she said and closed the blind that hung on the door. Scorpius sat opposite Rose and stared at her for a moment.

"You know, I don't think we can do what we normally do together in here. Al will be looking for me and I am not going to be caught in such a public place."

"Well that's what I was going to talk to you about."

Rose looked up from her book abruptly and eyed him suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he cleared his throat, "my parents are going to be away on the second weekend of the holidays and I just thought that maybe if you wanted to…come around?" Scorpius ended lamely. Rose's eyebrows were back in their usual position now and she answered whilst going back to her book.

"Sure. I'll just have to tell my parents that I'm going to a friend's place."

Scorpius' mouth twitched up at the corners as he took in the implications of Rose's answer.

"So…I suppose I'll see you in two weeks?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Rose saw Scorpius pause as he got up to leave the compartment. Just as he was about to open his mouth, she cut him off.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can figure out where your place is. I'm sure you can see it in the London Skyline."

Scorpius nodded and left the compartment silently. As the door shut, Rose realised that she had said yes to spending a weekend with Scorpius Malfoy. Alone. Usually she would agonise over the implications of her decision but as she had spent so much of her time lately agonising over the tall blonde only to find out that he thought exactly what she did, she decided to just chalk this one down to intuition.

* * *

True to her word, Rose did not agonise over her decision during the holidays and on the last weekend, found herself quite calmly awaiting some form of acknowledgement in front of the wrought iron gates at Malfoy Manor. Rose wasn't sure if there was a button that needed to be pressed or whether she should talk into the hedges that surrounded the entrance to see if she could get a clue as to how to enter. She stood staring at a white peacock that strutted beyond the gate and had the amusing thought that this was probably the animal that Scorpius would produce as a patronus, or turn into if he were an animagus. Chuckling to herself, Rose leant against the gate and swiftly fell through them into the confines of the gardens surrounding the manor. She looked back and saw that the gates looked as solid as ever and went to touch them. She jumped back as her hand went right through the gate once more.

"Intruder charm." Rose said to herself. She knew that some wizarding families continued to be paranoid following the war, and none more rightly so than the Malfoys. Rose knew that the charm allowed in only those people who had been invited into the manor. Rose strolled up to the manor entrance and used the giant knocker to alert Scorpius to her presence. Rose had the sudden thought that she had not made contact with Scorpius over the past two weeks and started to fret that maybe his parents weren't away, or maybe she had gotten the wrong date or maybe…

The door opened wide and Scorpius could be seen in casual clothes, staring down at Rose.

"Oh, uh. Hey." He said.

"Hey yourself. You know, your gates kind of freaked me out. If I hadn't gotten so bored and leant up against them I would have never made it in!"

Scorpius simply nodded and moved aside, gesturing her to enter his house. She stood in the entrance way and looked around in awe. Everything about the furnishings was so ornate and beautiful.

"Whoah! I knew you lived in a big arse house but I never thought it would be this…"

"Nice?" Scorpius offered.

"Well, sorry, but yeah! I expected snakes and slytherin colours but this – " Rose was lost for words. The place had truly taken her breath away. She walked up to the balustrade and ran her hands over the marble finish. She turned back to Scorpius again.

"So, care to show me around?"

"Ah, sure. Follow me."

Rose couldn't help but notice that Scorpius seemed rather off. He wasn't insulting her like he usually would if she had been unwelcome, but he wasn't talking to her casually like he usually did when he was 'Scorpius'. Rose decided to let it go and simply basked in the glory that was Malfoy Manor.

Scorpius avoided showing her the ground floor, and led her straight to the first floor of the manor. Behind the first door, Rose saw an amazing lounge area which had French doors that backed onto an expansive balcony. Rose squealed and motioned towards the French doors.

"May I?" she asked. Scorpius simply looked at her quizzically and then motioned with his hand as if to say 'go ahead'. Rose couldn't contain her excitement. Not since her first day at Hogwarts had she seen such grandeur. She felt that over the years the castle's affect seemed to lessen with familiarity. But this was brand new and Rose still couldn't believe that the beautiful pastel palette of the manor belonged to the Malfoys. She wondered whether they had refurbished following the war but thought it imprudent to ask. Rose opened the magnificent mahogany doors and felt the wind rush her face as she went out on the balcony.

"This is AMAZING!" she shouted as she twirled around the balcony. Scorpius simply sat patiently in the lounge while Rose basked in the glory of the outdoor area. Rose caught a glimpse of him when she was mid spin and figured that maybe she should tone down her excitement at exploring the manor. She closed the great doors behind her and smiled while trying to flatten her hair which had come loose during her twirling. She sat down next to Scorpius on the sofa and looked across at him.

"So, what else is on this floor?"

Scorpius seemed as though he hadn't been paying attention but eventually responded without looking in her direction.

"Just a drawing room and my bedroom." He answered. Rose was starting to get irritated with Scorpius' lack of hosting abilities.

"Well, the drawing room doesn't sound too thrilling. Show me your bedroom – hang on," Rose looked shocked for a moment and paused. As she did so, she briefly noticed Scorpius look down at the carpet instead of her.

"on this entire floor you only have an entertaining area, a drawing room and your room?"

Scorpius looked up quickly.

"Ah, yeah?" Rose stared at him.

"Holy shit, how big _is_ your room?"

Scorpius managed a small smile and motioned her to follow him.

It turned out that Scorpius' room was indeed, rather large as it took up half of the first floor.

"If this is your room, I'd hate to see your parent's room!" Rose said, completely stunned. Scorpius' room looked more like an apartment rather than just a place to sleep. His king sized bed was set between two ornate window frames and was also elevated above the rest of the furniture as it stood on a raised platform. Rose had expected Scorpius' room to be decked out in Slytherin colours and be immaculately clean. She was pleasantly surprised to see that his sheets were a crisp white while his bed spread was a warming charcoal. Both pieces of linen looked as though they had survived some strange battle with one another during the night, and lay in a tangle on top of his bed. The rest of the room wasn't particularly messy but certainly not tidy. Hundreds of records were lined up along an expansive book case that stretched across the longest wall. Rose could tell which records were his favourites as they were the ones that were stacked untidily right next to the record player. Scorpius made his way over to his bed and sat on its edge. Rose looked around the room further and still couldn't believe her eyes.

"I can't believe you have your own bathroom and balcony and – Whoah is that a kitchenette? Man, you must struggle having to share everything at Hogwarts! Hm, maybe this upbringing is why you are such a snobby, pompous prat a lot of the time."

Rose missed the scowl that Scorpius sent her way and simply bounded over to the record collection.

"Let's see…_Wizards versus Warlocks_, hm not bad, _Sorcerer's Stone_, the _Weird Sisters_, I have to say I'm surprised you like a touch of retro, what else, _Ignatius Swan_, I like his acoustic stuff…oh wow!"

Rose quickly pulled a record out of its cover and put it gently onto the turntable once she had made sure to wipe the record down first. The song had a low bass line and after a few seconds, other heavy but slow guitars joined in. Rose closed her eyes and swayed as she walked over to join Scorpius on his bed. She sat down just as the lead singer's husky low voice could be heard.

"I've got to hand it to you Scorpius, you sure do know how to pick a good tune! This one's my favourite, I had to buy another record because I scratched my first one listening to it too much. You know-" Rose halted as she turned to look at Scorpius. He was looking down at his hands which were tapping incessantly on his knees. Rose could tell he wasn't listening. She let a huffing sound escape from her lips.

"You know, if you didn't want me to come, you could have easily taken back your invitation and I never would have been able to even get through your stupid iron gates! What is your problem?"

"What?" Scorpius looked up, startled as if he didn't know she was addressing him.

"I said what is your problem? You were the one who asked me over and yet all you've done is sit in cold stony silence and, and keep rolling your eyes at me and ignoring everything that I say."

Rose paused as if expecting Scorpius to retaliate at this point.

"Ugh, seriously! If I had wanted to stay in the company of _Malfoy_ for the last weekend of my holidays, I'm sure I could have just effing waited until Monday's potions lesson!"

"Maybe-"

"Maybe what Scorpius? Maybe you shouldn't have invited me here in the first place? Maybe I shouldn't have come? WHAT?"

At this outburst, Scorpius put his head in her hands.

"Maybe this was a mistake."

Rose shot the boy a very disgruntled look.

"Oh, now you can say this is a mistake! What kind of idiot – "

"Look I'm sorry!" Scorpius had finally found his voice. "I just, I thought that our agreement was – and I –" Scorpius paused.

"Well, spit it out!"

Scorpius sighed again. "Look, after you freaked out about the picnic that day I realised that we never actually made rules for what we were um, doing. And then that night that Holly talked to you through the door, well I figured that night we did make the rules, but they were just silent."

Scorpius paused again. Rose was intrigued and looked at him expectantly but he didn't continue.

"And?"

"Well, I thought that we never really get to be properly alone and remembered on the train that my parents were going away this weekend and, I don't know I saw you sitting there and saw an opportunity to ask you to – come over. And we wouldn't have to be worried about getting caught out."

Rose tried to hold back a smirk and wasn't sure how successful she was but decided to milk this situation for all it was worth.

"I don't understand. What would we be doing here that would be different than Hogwarts?"

Scorpius stared at Rose.

"You mean you don't – oh fuck, I'm a bigger arse than what I thought."

Rose tried not to giggle at his reaction to her feigning ignorance.

"Why, whatever do you mean Scorpius?" Rose asked innocently.

"Rose, look. I invited you here because we could be, well I suppose not ourselves, but ourselves when other people aren't around."

"And?"

"Well, I kinda thought that – " Scorpius finally had the guts to look Rose in the eye and he noticed the glint she held there. Scorpius narrowed his eyes at her.

"Agh! You - You knew all along why I invited you here!"

Rose beamed.

"Oh sorry, why did you invite me here this weekend?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"Don't play coy Rose! You know I know you know!"

"Know what?"

Scorpius threw up his hands in frustration.

"You're going to make me say it aren't you?"

"Say what Scorpius?"

"You are infuriating you are! You're going to make me say why I asked you here."

"Well if I knew you had this much of an aversion to the word 'sex' then I probably would have just resisted you from the start."

"How can you just, just say it so – casually – like that?"

Rose burst out laughing.

"You mean to tell me that you invited me here under the pretence of getting some alone time and knowing we can't get caught, which in my mind translates to 'possible opportunity to have sex', and yet you can't even say the word. Oh, hang on. You aren't – "

"No Rose! I certainly may not be as – active – as the rumours make out but I am somewhat experienced."

Rose laughed out loud and Scorpius glared at her.

"I just don't see why you can't say the word!"

"Look, just calm down! I can say it!"

"Then say it!"

"I'm not going to say it Rose."

"Chicken"

"Oh for fuck's sake. SEX!"

Rose stared at him and then made to leave the room.

"Oh well, that just wasn't attractive. I think I'm put off, I'm going to go now!"

Scorpius simply glared at her and she sat back down.

"So now that you know you haven't lured me here under false pretences because I'm not stupid and I realised the possible implications for accepting your invitation, are you going to let me stay or do you want me to go?"

Scorpius looked down at his hands once more.

"I don't – I don't know. I just, don't think I can use you like that. I'm sorry."

Rose stared at him in shock. He still wouldn't look up at her.

"You mean to tell me that you're sorry because you thought you were using me?"

Scorpius nodded.

"Wow. Didn't expect you to say that." She replied, feeling mildly awkward now.

"I'm-"

"Stop saying you're sorry! Merlin, I accepted this offer knowing that there was the _possibility_ of us, well you know. But that's not exactly why I decided to come. Why don't we just, get out of your room because, clearly the pressure is too much for you, and you can show me the rest of the manor?"

"Hey, I'll have you know that I am fine under pressure!"

Rose rolled her eyes and realised that maybe she would get to spend time with the side of him Holly had been talking about. She had seen glimpses of that side over the last few months and didn't exactly hate it. She laughed and dragged him off the bed by his hand.

"Well, maybe we'll never know!" she said teasingly. "So, what other treasures does your mansion offer?"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry to leave this chapter here...it was going to go on but I think it was best to leave it here, otherwise the chapter would be getting too long! PLEASE review, I'd love to hear from those of you who have been with this story from the start! Peace out! Oh yeah, and REVIEW!


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